SnowClan's Story
by KonoDragon
Summary: There used to be a Clan, SnowClan, before it was destroyed. After talking to Snowstar, the original SnowClan's first-and last-leader, Blizzard rebuilds SnowClan. When a threat from another cat makes her start to doubt her choices, SnowClan is thrown into chaos. Only 3 cats can save them, and they are all gone. Will SnowClan be able to find them in time? Or will they disappear too?
1. Chapter 1

Allegiances

Leader- Blizzardstar- albino she-cat

Deputy- Bluefern- orange Tom with blue-green eyes

Mentor to Fuzzypaw

Medicine Cat- Mysticmist- blue she-cat with a silver patch on forehead with blue eyes

Mentor to Whitepaw

Warriors

Sapphirespirit- grey short-haired she-cat with green eyes

Sparrowtail- black Tom with 3 orange stripes down his back with yellow eyes

Mentor to Hawkpaw

Mistflower- light grey she-cat with black paws and blue eyes

Mentor to Dawnpaw

Wolftalon- calico Tom with gold-amber eyes

Tangleclaw- brown she-cat with white spots on eyes with blue eyes

Swiftfire- orange Tom with green eyes

Leopardpelt- cream colored Tom with brown spots and amber eyes

Sandshadow- black Tom with blue-green eyes

Snowleaf- calico Tom with green eyes

Icewish- blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentices

Hawkpaw- orange-brown Tom with brown eyes

Dawnpaw- golden she-cat with amber eyes

Fuzzypaw- calico Tom with white paws and amber eyes

Whitepaw- albino she-cat

Queens

Silverheart- grey she-cat with amber eyes, mother to Foxkit and Sunkit

Embersong- orange she-cat with green eyes, mother to Icekit, Wolfkit, and Tigerkit

Chapter 1

Blizzard stared into the open space ahead of her as the first snow of leaf-bare began to fall. Slowly, she stood. Her sleek white form soon became covered with the wet snow. She ran faster. Once in the cover of the forest, she stopped.

Her nose picked up the scent of a squirrel, and she followed the scent. Once Blizzard spotted the brown in the sea of white, she went into a crouch and slowly snuck up to the unknowing creature. When Blizzard was a tail-length away, she pounced. She killed it with a swift bite to the neck, and then sat down to her meal.

She watched the snow fall as she consumed her warm meal. After she had finished, she licked her paws clean and continued on her way. Blizzard kept a steady pace so as to not wear herself out, and soon came to the small abandoned burrow under a tree. It was her home after running from the twolegs. She curled around the warmth of the shelter, and closed her eyes. _Better to sleep out the storm than try to get something done in it,_ she thought to herself. The warmth now surrounding her and making her drowsy, she drifted off to sleep.

Blizzard found herself talking to another cat._What an odd dream,_she thought, confused by this apparent apparition. Then the other cat spoke.

"I am Snowstar, the first-and last- leader of SnowClan. I came to you to ask a favor."

"Clan? Favor? What are you talking about?" responded Blizzard.

Snowstar smiled. "You haven't heard of the Clans, have you?"

"No, I have not."

"There used to be a clan, SnowClan, which lived in the mountains. They were strong and intelligent, hunting larger and stronger prey than other Clans. A Clan has a leader, the one who leads the Clan and conducts ceremonies. The leader gets nine lives from his or her ancestors. StarClan, and I am part of this Clan now. There is also a deputy, who is the second in command. He or she succeeds the leader, and organizes patrols and other everyday tasks. The deputy must have mentored at least one apprentice, and be a warrior."

"What?"

"Let me finish. Then there is a medicine cat, who receives messages from us. They heal injured cats and have an apprentice to help them."

"And what are apprentices and warriors?" Blizzard asked, getting a bit impatient with the long-winded cat in front of her.

"Apprentices are cats learning to become warriors. Warriors hunt and defend the Clan.

Since I can tell you are getting impatient, I shall make this brief. Find the she-cat and Tom travelling together named Misty and Argo. Rebuild SnowClan. I shall help guide you."

Sensing the importance of this Clan, Blizzard nodded at the wise cat and said, "I shall not fail you Snowstar! I will rebuild SnowClan!" Her vision went white, and she found herself in the normal world again.

Leaving the warmth of her home, she went out into the forest again, now coated with a thin layer of white. _How will I find Misty and Argo?_Blizzard suddenly thought. _I don't even know where they are!_Realizing that she had Snowstar guiding her, she simply went on her way, looking for prey for her now grumbling stomach. The snow crunching under her paws, she headed towards the mountains.

Hearing some crunching of snow somewhere to her right, Blizzard turned her head to catch a glimpse of orange. Instantly knowing it was a cat, she followed the general direction the cat had taken. Coming around one particularly large tree, she was ambushed by a flash of orange. Defending herself against the furry onslaught, Blizzard eventually pushed away the orange cat.

"Why are you following us?" the cat demanded. A blue she-cat poked her head out from behind a tree. Not meaning to, Blizzard replied with, "Are you Argo and Misty?"

"How do you know?" the orange Tom, Argo, replied.

"I was sent by Snowstar, the first leader of SnowClan, to find you. That is why I followed you."

Both cats gave her a look of confusion, so Blizzard told them what she knew. "A clan is a group of cats with a leader, deputy, medicine cats, warriors and apprentices, as well as kits. There used to be a Clan in the mountains called SnowClan that disbanded." Remembering what Snowstar had told her, Blizzard continued.

"The leader is first in command. He holds ceremonies, like promoting apprentices to warriors. The leader's name ends in star and he or she has nine lives. The deputy is second in command. The medicine cat communicates with StarClan, our ancestors, and heals the cats in the Clan. Warriors defend the Clan and hunt, and also train apprentices to become warriors. What I want to know though, is if you will help me rebuild SnowClan."

Argo replied, "It's a lot to take in, but I accept."

Misty finally came out from behind the tree, and nodded. "I accept as well."

Blizzard smiled and almost burst with happiness. They were going to build SnowClan!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own warriors, but all my OC's are mine. Some credit goes to GraymistofLeafClan. You should totally read her story, LeafClan's Beginning. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

The trio soon had come to the mountains.

"If SnowClan lived in the mountains, we have to make it in the mountains again. It just sounds right," Misty said, absent-mindedly inspecting a long-dead and frozen rabbit.

Argo and Blizzard nodded.

"Then we should start looking," Blizzard answered.

Splitting up, they looked for a place to have their camp. Blizzard went into the small forest that she had recently found. She found a small cave entrance and squirmed into it. Seeing as it never became any wider or taller, Blizzard crawled out. Misty, meanwhile, was simply walking around, completely clueless. Finding a odd patch of black against the half-snow half-dead grass of the landscape, she walked over to investigate. Finding nothing of interest, she walked back into the open field. Argo had found an odd spot where one mountain seemed to sprout out of another. Seeing a cave on top of the cliff, he used the tree roots that had grown into the rock to get to the ledge.

"Wow! This is kinda neat..."Argo observed as he entered the cave. Deciding that this might be a good start, at least, he called out to Misty and Blizzard. "Hey! Come check this out!"

Running to where they had heard Argo, Blizzard and Misty saw the entrance of a large cave. It lay on the side of a cliff where one mountain seemed to sprout out of another. Using some tree roots that clung to the rock, the both of them climbed to the entrance. The ceiling looked about 8 tail-lengths high, and went back some distance. A crack ran the length of the ceiling, which provided enough light for them to see without having to wait for their eyes to adjust. Carefully, Misty and Blizzard walked into the cave. A short distance in, there was a large wall blocking their path. Realizing that it was only about 5 tail-lengths high, and that there were cracks and various rocks jutting out that could be used to climb up it, they decided silently to see what was on the other side. Misty went up first, followed by Blizzard and Argo.

A small cave was off to the side. Walking in, Blizzard noted that the cave was four tail-lengths high, and went back for six tail-lengths. Blizzard instantly decided it should be the cave the medicine cat would use, upon noticing the rock "shelves" that would work perfectly for storing herbs. The shelves lined the entire length of the cave, and were the perfect height for a cat. Blizzard walked further in to investigate. She found a small pool at the back, which was being filled by a small trickle running down the back wall. Finding nothing else of interest, Blizzard ran out to find Misty and Argo.

Continuing on, they discovered another elevated section of cave. Blizzard went into it, and found a medium-size cave and a much larger one. Investigating the medium one, she thought it would make a good cave for the leader, as it overlooked most of the cave system. Blizzard walked into the larger cave, and thought it would make a good cave for the warriors to use. Another medium-large cave was off to the side. Blizzard went in to investigate, and was thinking it could be the den apprentices used. A small crack in the ceiling provided a bit of light in the den, but surprisingly didn't leak. A similar crack ran through the middle of the warrior's den, but was larger by a few mouse-lengths and leaked in some sections.

Argo and Misty, after leaving Blizzard to investigate the even higher section of cave, came to a small drop off. Jumping down, they found a large cave lighted by another one of the odd non-leaking cracks in the ceiling. Seeing some elevated, smaller caves on the far wall, both decided that it might be good for queens and their kits. They would be farther from danger, being at the back of the cave system, and would have somewhere to go in case of any natural disasters. Turning to go back where they had left Blizzard, Argo and Misty came face-to-face with an orange she-cat and three kittens.

"Who are you?" the she-cat asked.

"I'm Argo and she is Misty," Argo told the she-cat. "And you are?"

"I'm Ember, and these are my kittens Ice, Wolf, and Tiger."

"Hello!" All three kittens said. Ice was white with beautiful blue eyes. Wolf was grey with a white underside and one blue eye and one brown eye. Tiger was orange with blue-green eyes. They then jumped on Misty's back.

"Oh! Hi!" Misty purred to the kits that now explored the wonders of her back; which wasn't very many.

"Anyway, why are you here? I don't get many visitors," Ember mewed.

"We are forming a Clan, SnowClan. Our friend, Blizzard, is over there exploring those higher caves."

At that exact moment, Blizzard ran out of the cave she had been exploring with a mob of bats chasing her. "Help me!" she squealed with fear. With the bats on her tail, Blizzard darted into the medicine cat den and narrowly avoided them as they flew out the entrance of the cave.

"Well, that was a close one. Why didn't you help me?" an angry Blizzard mewed to Argo and Misty as she walked cautiously over to the cave they were now in. She jumped down. Only a few seconds later did Blizzard notice the other she-cat, Ember. "Oh. Hello. I didn't see you over there… You would be?"

"Ember. These are my kittens Ice, Wolf, and Tiger," Ember mewed in response, nodding in turn to each of her kits as she mentioned them. "Say…your friends over here said that you are building a Clan. Would you accept us?"

Smiling, Blizzard responded, "Of course! We need kits to grow our Clan, and we are also looking for members. And, if you don't mind, I thought this might make a good nursery."

"No, I don't mind at all. I need a permanent home anyway."

Blizzard, Argo, and Misty nodded in understanding.

"You know," Ember mewed, "I haven't had a decent meal in days. It's mainly been whatever died and was just left there. Any chance that there is something to eat?"

Shaking their heads, Blizzard, Argo, and Misty responded, "No."

Argo then added, "But I don't see any reason why we can't go hunting. The snow has stopped, and it's a good opportunity to teach you how to hunt, Ember. Besides," his stomach grumbled. "I'm pretty hungry anyway."

Nodding in agreement, Blizzard, Ember, and Misty climbed out of the darkness into the fading light outside. The kits mewed a goodbye to their mother, and climbed into one of the smaller caves in the nursery to sleep, guarded by Argo. Blizzard and Misty went first down the cliff, and then waited for Ember to make her way down. Immediately, Ember's more sensitive nose picked up the smell of a hare close by. "That way," she quietly mewed to her companions, making a gesture with her nose to the forest.

"Well, I suppose that it will be you teaching us. How did your sense of smell become so well-defined?" Misty questioned, quietly, as to not alert any potential prey to their presence as they all went down into a crouch and slowly made their way to the woods.

"Living in the darkness for many moons has some advantages, I suppose," Ember quietly responded. "My kits also have an acute sense of smell. It also helps when there is deep snow and everything smells the same."

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, all of them could smell the rabbit. Ember leading the way, they followed the scent. The hare was resting under a tree, unaware of the cats. Misty and Blizzard stayed behind in order to watch Ember. Ember quietly stalked up to the rabbit and paused for a moment. She tried to pounce, but didn't go forward enough, and missed the hare by a only few mouse-lengths. The hare darted off, startled, but was caught by Blizzard, her coat blending in so well, she had remained unseen to the hare. With a quick bite to the hare's neck, Blizzard killed the hare. Dropping it on the snowy ground, she said, "Push forward more next time," with a smile at the end. "You did great though! Better than my first try."

Ember smiled in response and purred a "Thank you."

Misty then said, "I smell something else… a squirrel. Want another try?"

Ember responded with a nod and headed off after the scent. Blizzard picked up the hare and followed close behind, followed by Misty. Upon seeing the squirrel, Ember once again dropped into a crouch. She silently closed the distance and prepared to pounce. Taking Blizzard's advice, Ember went a little further and landed smack on top of the squirrel. She bit at the squirrel's neck and killed it quickly. Blizzard and Misty purred in approval.

After hunting for a while longer, Misty, Blizzard, and Ember came back to their den with an abundant supply of food. The kits were happy to see them back, as was a hungry Argo, and began to gorge on a few hares. Ember and Blizzard sat down to their own meals while Misty and Argo went into another cave to eat and explore. The kits had stayed near their mother, and were almost done with a plump white hare.

"So, what's your reason for being out here by yourself with three kits?" Blizzard asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"I told my mate that I was having kits, and at first he was excited. As soon as they were born though, he left, leaving me alone with my kits."

"That's horrible! Why would he do that?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I hope you won't abandon me like he did," Ember replied.

Attempting to change the direction of the conversation, Blizzard asked another question. "How old are they?"

"Almost five moons."

When the kits had finished and Misty and Argo returned, all of them nestled down to sleep. For the first time in some moons, Blizzard, Ember, Argo, and Misty felt at home, comforted by each other's presence.

**Sorry it took so long! I've been having trouble with my internet, and have been trying to make this chapter a bit slower with more description. Thanks for reading it though!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Here's chapter three! Hope you like it. Also, this version of SnowClan is **_**not**_** related to any other SnowClans there might be out there. This is my own idea! Don't forget to review, even if it's just advice. Thanks!**

Chapter 3

A frigid wind blew outside the cave. Blizzard, Argo, Misty, and Ember and her kits were warm and safe inside. A lone she-cat sat at the entrance to the cave. Her fur was already covered with snow that had melted and re-frozen into ice. The howling wind had brought a bad blizzard, and the she-cat had been caught in it. Paying no mind to the food left just inside the cave, the she-cat climbed down the tree roots with her frozen paws. It hurt, but she did need to get up and down.

The she-cat almost envied the cats inside the warm and safe cave. She had had no real home for most of her life. These cats had others who cared about their well-being and could depend on each other. It must be nice, to be able to have help from others and not have to depend on yourself most of the time. What would happen if you got sick, or injured?

Calmly walking toward her favorite spot, the she-cat ignored the freezing wind that bit and scratched at her sides with the snow it carried with it. Upon reaching the spot, which was simply an overhanging part of the mountain, the she-cat sat down in the snow and watched over the land.

She had no name that she could remember, but enjoyed calling herself Survivor, for a very good reason. When she was only four moons old, her family was killed by other cats that had simply attacked without warning. They killed her two sisters and brother, as well as her parents. They struck when she was outside, frolicking in the warmth of newleaf. She had only survived the attack by hiding in a small rabbit burrow , which was only recently vacated by her parents, that had masked her scent. Only being able to smell rabbits, the rouge cats had left without harming her. At least physically.

Survivor was an unusually small cat for her age, and tended to like the various small nooks and crannies in the area that only she could fit into, as these places were the only areas Survivor felt safe to be in now.

Ever since her family's death, Survivor had more or less lived on her own, and was an experienced hunter. For a while, she had survived by catching older, smaller animals that were easy to catch. After a while, Survivor had managed to move on to more difficult prey. Now she could catch almost anything, considering that she had been surviving like this for at least seven moons now.

Opening her mouth and sniffing the frozen air, Survivor began her journey down to the rabbit den she had smelled. Following the scent of her prey, she came to the edge of a forest. Sniffing inside the rabbit den, just to be sure, Survivor calmly crawled and wriggled her way inside. Upon finding the rabbit inside, Survivor quickly bit at it's neck. Staying inside, Survivor ate her meal and curled up in a corner. The ice on her pelt slowly melted in the warmth of her body and the enclosed space. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep in the temporary warmth of the den.

Blizzard awoke to a howling wind. Standing, she stretched and then woke Misty and Argo. Blizzard decided to let Ember sleep in with her kits, as she needed the sleep after practicing yesterday. Walking to the front of the cave to get their morning meal of mice that they had caught yesterday, the three of them immediately noticed an odd smell.

"Is it just me, or do I smell a cat?" Misty questioned, smelling the entrance of the cave. Misty then looked at the food pile, which now only contained four or five large cave mice. As far as Misty could tell, nothing was touched, indicating the cat didn't care for their food. Then why did this mysterious cat come?

Looking at each other, Misty, Argo, and Blizzard decided that they should go after this cat. After all, they needed some hunters to get food for the growing kits and themselves. And, since this cat seems to be living on its own, it must be a decent hunter, at the very least.

"Let's wait until the blizzard dies down a bit and then go look," suggested Blizzard.

Shaking his head, Argo quickly responded, "No. We'll lose the tracks and maybe the scent then. The snow would mask it. We have go _now_."

After having a quick meal of cave mice, Misty, Blizzard, and Argo set off on their way to find this mysterious cat.

Misty took the lead, her mouth open, trying to keep herself and her friends on the trail. Slowly but surely, they made their way to a forest near the bottom of the mountain. At this point, they broke out in a run for the half-cover of the trees. The snow was still falling at a steady rate, and was now a few mouse-lengths deep. Eager to get out of the blizzard, the three cats dashed into the cover of the trees. Upon seeing a rabbit burrow, Blizzard and Argo attempted to widen the entrance a bit so as to fit in it. Without warning, a she-cat darted out of the burrow, surprising Argo and catching him on his right side with her outstretched claws. Now on the other side of Blizzard, Misty, and an injured Argo, the she-cat was in a crouching, defensive stance, showing her teeth and hissing at them.

"What do you want?" the she-cat hissed.

"Only to know who had visited our home earlier," Blizzard told the she-cat.

The she-cat stopped hissing and showing her teeth, but still kept a safe distance between her and Blizzard, who had now stepped forward. Blizzard realized now that the she-cat was a bit undersized. Taking another step forward, which resulted in a hiss from the she-cat, Blizzard asked, "Since you haven't told us yet, what is your name?"

"I don't have one. Even if I did, I don't remember it."

"Well, you must be called _something_, am I right?

Taking the "something" in Blizzard's question literally, the she-cat hissed the response, "No, I am most definitely _not _called _something_. However, I normally call myself Survivor."

Confused, Misty stepped in. "And why is that?"

"Reasons that I do not care to tell you right now," Survivor hissed in response.

"Well, let us at least offer you somewhere warmer for tonight," Blizzard offered the she-cat, resulting in an angry glare from Argo.

Still a bit suspicious of the three cats that had managed to find her scent, even in this weather, Survivor nodded and accepted the offer, even though she was still a bit suspicious. "Sure. But only for tonight."

Staying well behind Blizzard, Misty, and Argo, Survivor kept a safe distance even though she still had the advantage, as she was behind them. The ice on her body made her shiver and hurt a bit. Survivor attempted to not show this, though. The four of them pushed through the deep snow, which had accumulated since their brief time talking to Survivor. After a while, they ended up having to jump over the growing amounts of snow. Luckily, the four cats made it safely back to the cave before the blizzard got any worse.

Argo climbed up the cliff first, followed by Misty and Blizzard. Survivor came behind them, still wanting the advantage. However, Survivor was a bit less suspicious of these new cats, seeing as they had offered her accommodations due to conditions outside, and had let her follow behind without question. Survivor eventually decided to let go a little of her feelings towards these cats after seeing their trust in her, even after she had injured Argo. Thankful to be out of the freezing conditions outside, Survivor ran into the safety of the cave upon reaching the top of the cliff for the second time in only a few hours.

"You know, we'd be happy to have you live here. We're starting a Clan. SnowClan. We need members, and it would be nice if you join," offered Misty, and this resulted in yet another glare from Argo.

All of a sudden, Survivor stopped in her tracks. She remembered when her mother and father were talking about SnowClan. She had never really remembered that she used to be part of SnowClan, but it was now brought to the front of her mind. Feeling much more safe with these strangers, Survivor decided to accept the offer. So, as a response Survivor mewed, "Yes. I'll join. My parents used to be in that Clan…but it disbanded and we had to leave."

Surprised, Blizzard, Misty, and Argo simply stared at Survivor.

"Um… well, that's great!" Blizzard eventually meowed, just to break the odd silence that had fallen on them.

Smiling, Survivor said, "Well, I'm still a bit tired. I haven't gotten a good rest for a while now." She climbed up to the higher section of cave and into the warrior den, after Blizzard had told her where it was. "I'm going to get some sleep, if you don't mind." Survivor found a comfy corner of the cave, and curled up. She shut her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

Survivor then she heard a strangely familiar voice.

"Wake up," the voice said.

Survivor kept her eyes shut, but was curious to see who it was. Were her new friends playing a nasty trick on her?

"Come on. I've got something to tell you. Up, now!"

Slowly, Survivor opened her eyes to see another cat in front of her. The she-cat seemed familiar, which explained how the voice had sounded familiar, but Survivor couldn't say for sure who it was. She still thought it was a trick being played on her.

"There. See? That wasn't too hard. Don't you remember me?" the she-cat asked, obviously expecting an answer similar to "Yeah! You're such-and-such!" However, she did not get that expected answer. Survivor slowly shook her head.

"Well, that's a shame. I'm your mother. However, I do understand that it has been a while since you've seen me."

"A while!" Survivor stood. "It's been much longer than that!" she almost hissed in anger.

"And I did not mean for it to happen. Please understand that."

Survivor was now at a loss for words. Survivor was happy to see her mother again, and was about to say something when her mother started to talk again.

"This is why you remember the name SnowClan. I was Snowstar, until the Clan disbanded."

Survivor still couldn't think of anything to say.

A confused look on her face, Snowstar continued to speak, apparently thinking that Survivor hadn't gotten her meaning. "I'm telling you this so you can remember. I came to Blizzard because she is determined enough to start this Clan again, but she needs help, and you're the only surviving member of the original SnowClan. Help her do this, for me. I don't want this Clan's lifespan to be as short or shorter than ours."

Survivor nodded to her mother. The scene then faded, and she was back in the cave. The ice on her body had melted by now, but it felt like so little time had passed. Still a bit tired, Survivor closed her eyes again, and allowed herself to be consumed by the darkness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the entrance, Blizzard was talking with Misty.

"Any luck with that?" Blizzard asked a annoyed Misty.

Still working on getting her teeth through the frozen pelt of a rabbit she had found outside, Misty sighed. "Nope. Nothing yet."

"Well, good luck with that. I'm getting tired, so I'm going to sleep. Give me a nudge when you're done."

"Sure thing."

**Hi, it's me again. Sorry the postings are really spaced, but I don't have a whole lot of time to work on this story currently. I will, however, try to post a chapter at the most every week. I'm not one of those people who will stay up late saying 'no I need to get this done!'. Sorry, but I'm just not going to do it. Thanks for reading, though!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter four, and I hope you like it! This is where me and GraymistofLeafClan intertwined our books a little, so sorry if it's a bit rushed at that part. I tried my best to make it flow, but it's kind of hard to do, considering that it's not my book.**

Chapter 4

"Misty? Misty!" Blizzard called out over the edge of the cliff. "Misty!"

"What? What's wrong?" Argo and Survivor yelled, as they came running.

"Misty! Sh-She's gone!" Blizzard informed them, and then almost began to cry. "It's my fault this happened! I should have stayed with her, or told her to bring it inside, or _something_!"

"OK, just calm down Blizzard. We're getting nothing done blaming ourselves. Tell us _exactly_ what happened. All the details too. They might help us find her," Survivor told Blizzard in a calm voice. "Everything you know."

Sobbing now, Blizzard started to tell Survivor and Argo what happened.

"Well, you see, last night, I was sitting here with Misty. She was, um, trying to eat this frozen rabbit she found outside. I told her that I'm going to go to sleep, and that she should wake me when she decided to turn in. Then, I woke up, and realized that Misty had never come back. Oh, I hope that nothing has happened to her!"

Thinking about this information, Survivor absent-mindedly nodded. "But she was here, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, a she-cat like her would know better than to go off adventuring without telling someone. So, it's either the bad option or the good option."

"The good option?"

"That she found a new cave or something and got lost. Sadly though, I think that that is very unlikely. The other option is that something, or someone took her. As in, a wild animal had decided that she might make a good meal and tried to kill her, and, hopefully, she is simply stuck down there locked in combat and uninjured."

"Oh…" Blizzard cried.

In a bad mood from his injury, Argo felt the need to add an unnecessary comment. "Or she could be dead."

Blizzard broke down, and Survivor glared at Argo. In a low hiss, Survivor whispered, "Argo! You know that Blizzard is upset as it is! She believes it's her fault this happened to Misty, and you mustn't make it worse by saying the possibility that she is dead. I know that we aren't on the best of terms right now, but you mustn't take it out on Blizzard!"

"Well, saying we aren't on the best of terms is putting it mildly, isn't it? Besides, it could be true," grumbled Argo. Survivor gave him an angry glare and turned back to Blizzard. "Blizzard…what Argo says may be true, but all we have to do is find her. Right?"

Blizzard, still crying her heart out, nodded in response. Her body shook with every sob.

Ember then came running, followed by her kits. "What is it? What's happened? I heard you crying, Blizzard, and thought something terrible had happened!"

"Misty has gone missing," Survivor filled in. "Blizzard is terribly upset about it. She believes that it's her fault since she left Misty out here alone."

"That's horrible! Tiger, Ice, Wolf, go back to the nursery. I'll be back in a moment. Here, take these mice and go eat," Ember quietly told her kits, and handed them a few cave mice to eat. Obediently, the kits took the mice and ran back to the nursery.

With the kits now gone, Ember continued. "Well, it was freezing last night. Maybe she got stuck in a snow drift or something. I have no reason to say we can't go look now. With these temperatures," Ember shivered. "I think we need all the time we can get. And besides, I don't think her body is necessarily adapted to this weather yet. Who will stay with the kits?"

"I will. I'm not in the mood, or physically ready, for a search party yet," Argo grumbled. He slowly walked to the nursery, and eventually disappeared over the ledge.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry!" urged Survivor.

Quickly, Survivor, Ember, and Blizzard climbed down the cliff and started to sniff the still cold air. Ember, with her unnaturally good sense of smell, naturally picked up the scent first. "I found it! It's faint, but I'm pretty sure that it's Misty's."

Eager to find Misty before the cold would overcome her, Survivor and Blizzard eagerly followed Ember. Her nose high in the air and her mouth open, Ember desperately tried to stay on Misty's trail. She walked slowly through the deep, sparkling snow. They slowly made their way down the mountain, to the edge of the forest Survivor had been in when they had found her. The snow wasn't as deep there, and they made more progress. Ember called it off, as it was now sunhigh and all three she-cats were starving. However much they wanted to stay on Misty's trail, Blizzard and Survivor eventually agreed to take a quick break, especially after realizing that none of them had eaten anything yet.

Blizzard and Survivor had caught a few plump snow hares, and Ember sat resting under a tree. Blizzard and Survivor shared one hare and gave the other to Ember, her needing it more than them. They ate in silence, not feeling the need to speak to each other. They finished quickly. Ember soon resumed the lead, and Survivor and Blizzard took up the rear once again.

Turning around, Ember meowed, almost in a whisper, "I think we're getting closer."

Blizzard sighed in relief. _At least this will all be over soon. For better or for worse,_ Blizzard told herself.

Blizzard, Survivor, and Ember continued the seemingly never-ending journey to find their missing friend. Luckily, some snow had melted under the warm sun, and had made their journey a little easier than when they had started out. Ember, who was thoroughly worn out from keeping on the trail, agreed that Survivor should take over. Misty's scent was stronger now, and they didn't require Ember's extremely sensitive nose to pick up the scent. So, Survivor taking the lead, Ember got her well-deserved rest. Putting her nose to the ground to just pick up the scent, Survivor paused for just a moment before continuing.

Soon, the sun had set and Blizzard was extremely worried. So much time had passed, and they had still not found Misty. Ember attempted to console her.

"It's alright though! We're so close it's unbelievable how close we are."

"But yet we still haven't seen her."

Sighing, Ember stopped her attempts to console the worried Blizzard. Not so far up ahead, there was a small cave. It was getting late, and they decided to stop there for the night and sleep.

After having a quick meal of a bluebird and some rabbits, the group made themselves comfortable in the cave. It was scarcely large enough to fit the three of them, with a low ceiling that was only about three tail-lengths high. It only went back a few fox-lengths and had various plant roots hanging down. Blizzard, Survivor, and Ember cuddled together for warmth and safety. Closing their eyes, the she-cats tried to sleep through the worry for Misty's well-being.

Blizzard closed her eyes. Once on the verge of sleep, the floor disappeared beneath her, replaced by the starry fields of SarClan. Blizzard opened her eyes and found herself talking to Snowstar yet again.

"Hello Blizzard."

"Hello, Snowstar. So, what's happened now?"

Snowstar replied with a smile.

Smiling as well, Blizzard continued. "Oh, it's just that whenever you come to me, you either have something important to say or something to ask of me."

"True, true. This time it's something important."

"Oh thank StarClan! I was worried you'd ask me to do something else. Forming a Clan is enough right now."

"Yes, I figured as much. I trust that Survivor, as she prefers to call herself now, has told you of her family relations?"

"Only that she is the only surviving member of the original SnowClan."

"Well, she is my daughter." Snowstar saw Blizzard's shocked face, and continued. "She is supposed to guide you, but I thought I should make this easier for you. Misty has already met with the medicine cat. She will also receive her medicine cat name."

"I'm just relieved that she is safe!" Blizzard sighed in relief. "So, she must be at some sort of moonstone or moonpool, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least that narrows it down a little. There aren't many places one can be."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you _exactly _where it is. Where's the fun in that?"

Blizzard gave Snowstar a withering look. "Even after all this?"

In a matter-of-factly way, Snowstar responded, "Of course. I can't give you all the answers to this test. If you're going to be a leader, you must be able to solve your own problems and make your own decisions. I will tell you that you are close, and that she is with other cats. I believe that narrows it down quite a bit, and will tell you nothing more."

Contemplating this, Blizzard sat in thought for a few moments. "Thank you Snowstar," she finally responded to the starry leader before her. "You've been a great help."

"You're very welcome. I hope to see you soon in the leader ceremony."

And with that, Snowstar and the scene before Blizzard faded back into the darkness of the cramped cave. It was now morning, and Blizzard felt fully rested. Blizzard woke her friends and told them the message from Snowstar.

"So," began Ember. "At least we are close. I can't think of any moonstones in this area though. Or moonpools. I came through this area though, before heading up the mountain. There was a cave system somewhere around here. It might have a moonstone in one of the caves."

"Well, it's a start," mewed Survivor. "We should check that out first. But only after we eat something. I'm starving!" Survivor's stomach grumbled.

Agreeing with Survivor, Blizzard and Ember also set out to hunt. Ember quickly tracked down a field mouse eating some seeds in an open field. Dropping into her hunting crouch, Ember quietly closed the distance until she was only a few fox-lengths away. She pounced, and killed the mouse with a sharp bite to the neck. Ember found a few other mice, and ate those as well.

Blizzard had found a large, plump rabbit in the forest. Dropping into a crouch, Blizzard closed the distance. She misjudged her jump, and almost missed the rabbit, but still managed to get her claws into it's flesh. Blizzard kept her claws in until the squirming rabbit ceased movement. She hungrily devoured the plump tan rabbit and went to find Survivor and Ember.

Survivor had found a small sleeping owl in a tree. She attempted to climb up the tree silently, but had startled the owl before she could reach it. However, the tree was small enough that if she fell, it wouldn't cause harm. Survivor jumped off the branch she was on, claws out to catch the owl. She missed, and took a hard fall on the ground. Mumbling to herself, she sniffed out a small bird. Survivor's unusually strong hind legs pushed her forward and onto the bird. Quickly, she bit at the chirping bluebird's neck. She devoured the bird, and found Ember and Blizzard staring at her. Survivor spit out some feathers that refused to go down, and asked the burning question; "What?"

"You must have jumped at least five tail-lengths! Upward!" gasped Blizzard. "I've never seen a cat jump that high before!"

"Same!" Ember gasped.

"I guess it's from surviving on my own since I was just a kit," shrugged Survivor, acting as if it was nothing at all. She began to clean her paws, as if nothing had happened.

Shaking their heads, Ember and Blizzard still sat looking at Survivor.

"I think we should get going." Blizzard pointed out.

Agreeing, Ember and Blizzard fell in behind Survivor, who easily found Misty's trail. They eventually walked into a group of cats.

"Who are you?" asked a grey-blue she-cat.

"I'm Blizzard, and these are my friends Survivor and Ember."

Ember and Survivor nodded to the she-cat.

"Well, I'm Graymist, the deputy of LeafClan. I'm on patrol."

A tan Tom came up behind Graymist, followed by a gray Tom with black spots and a white she-cat.

"The tan Tom is Eaglestripe, the gray Tom with black spots is Hawkpelt, and the she-cat is Featherdance. What is your reason for passing through?"

"Our friend came through here, Misty. We were wondering if you've seen her," Blizzard said to Graymist.

"The rest of the Clan would know. We've been on patrol and haven't seen anyone except for you. I'll take you there," replied Graymist.

Blizzard, Ember, and Survivor followed Graymist to a cave opening. Graymist went down the large branch first, Blizzard and Ember followed, then Eaglestripe and Hawkpelt. Survivor went down the branch next, and Featherdance brought up the rear.

"Blizzard? Ember? Survivor? You came to find me!"

"Misty! Oh thank StarClan you're alright!" a joyful Blizzard mewed to her friend, then ran up to share tongues with her and to express her concern.

Boulderstar came down from his den to see what all the commotion was about. "Graymist, what is going on? Why are these cats in our camp?"

"I found them while on patrol. They were looking for their friend here. I saw no problem with it."

Blizzard noticed the cobwebs on Misty's front legs. Astonished, Blizzard asked her what had happened. Misty began to respond when Goldenheart, LeafClan's medicine cat, walked up.

"I found her while gathering some herbs. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but she was simply laying on the ground, her front legs a mess. I took her here to heal."

"Oh Misty…" Blizzard began to say.

"Blizzard, I'm fine. You can stop worrying now."

The cats in LeafClan had moved on by now, leaving the small group some sort of privacy. The sky turned orange-red before Blizzard, Ember, and Survivor noticed how long their journey had been. There was no way that they would make it back before night fell, and Misty still was not in traveling condition.

Boulderstar noticed the conflict in Blizzard's eyes, and offered them the chance to stay the night.

"Thank you Boulderstar. That would be nice. Our camp is more than half a day's journey, maybe more due to Misty's…injuries."

The sky soon darkened. Blizzard, Survivor, and Ember were asleep, but Misty sat awake. Silverpelt shone in the sky, and a full moon had risen. For some reason, Misty simply could not sleep. Her head on her paws, Misty stared at the full moon. The white spot on her head glowed with the intensity of the full moon.

Misty got up and padded silently over to the moonstone. She touched her nose to the stone.

Misty found herself in the StarClan fields, with a gray Tom by her side.

"Hello, Misty," he meowed. Misty nodded at him and smiled in response.

"I am Hiddentail, SnowClan's last medicine cat. Do you know why you are here?"

Misty knew why. She had felt drawn here. She was fascinated by different herbs, and delighted in seeing what they did. Most importantly, Misty had always felt a strong connection to StarClan. Misty knew that was a large part of being a medicine cat, at they needed to interpret prophecies and omens from StarClan. She also already knew the different herbs, their uses, and where to find them. This was partly due to her lengthy conversations with Goldenheart, who had kept her company while she had waited for her friends to come. Goldenheart sensed Misty's desire to become a medicine cat, and had told her of the medicine cat meetings every half-moon. They had agreed to continue this.

"Am I to become the next medicine cat?" When Hiddentail simply smiled, Misty knew the answer was 'yes'.

"Well, I figured that since you aren't an apprentice, I must be the one to initiate you into the medicine cat ranks, seeing as you are also the first medicine cat in your soon-to-be Clan."

Misty's chest swelled with anticipation. Finally, she could become a medicine cat!

"Misty, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from the rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Misty, from this moment you will be known as Mysticmist."

Mysticmist was overwhelmed by pride and pure joy. She had never dreamed of this happening. Hiddentail smiled at her. "Congratulations, Mysticmist. I hope you perform your duty well." With those words, the StarClan fields disappeared, and were replaced with the glowing moonstone in front of Mysticmist. Finally Mysticmist felt she could sleep. She curled up beside the moonstone, and closed her eyes. She had never felt closer to StarClan.

**Ha! Finally a ceremony! However short it was…**

**Anyway, hope you liked it! Leader ceremony is coming next.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I've been sick lately, and didn't feel like writing. However, I finally took the time to plan out Blizzard's leader ceremony for you guys! So she finally gets her nine lives…and I will finally get to form SnowClan! Yay!**

Chapter 5

Blizzard awoke to Mysticmist's face in hers. Mysticmist smile was so large that Blizzard almost thought someone had split her face in half.

"Come on Blizzard! There's something you need to do!"

Still a bit tired, a grumpy Blizzard muttered, "Oh? And what might that be?"

"What?"

Louder, Blizzard repeated what she had said. "Oh and what might that be!"

**(AN: Yes, I didn't put any punctuation there for a reason. Now you can't review about it.)**

"Your nine lives are waiting for you!"

A sudden burst of energy filled Blizzard's body. "Really? I thought that-"

"I'm a medicine cat now!" Mysticmist interrupted. "I had my ceremony last night! I'm not really supposed to tell you, but I'm just so super excited!" The words seemed to come out of Mysticmist's mouth non-stop, so Blizzard decided to get up. Mysticmist showed her the direction of the moonstone, and Blizzard went off on her way.

Blizzard reached the moonstone, and stared at it's beauty. Blizzard could now see why Mysticmist was drawn to this stone last night. It was…marvelous. Blizzard padded up to the moonstone, and sat down. Blizzard took a deep breath to prepare herself and closing her eyes, Blizzard touched the stone with the tip of her nose.

When she opened her eyes, Blizzard found herself in the starry fields of StarClan, with cats sitting in ranks around her, the stars shining brightly in their pelts. Blizzard smiled. This is what she had been waiting her whole life for, without even knowing it. She braced herself for the ceremony.

A small gray she-cat stepped out from the ranks. "Welcome, Blizzard, to StarClan. We are the ancestors of the Clans, joined together after death. We have been watching you, Blizzard, and have found you to be caring, intelligent, and loyal. As StarClan, we have agreed that you are worthy of becoming leader of SnowClan, and want you to receive your nine lives."

"I am SnowStar, first and last leader of SnowClan. I died in battle, losing my last life defending my Clan. With this life I give you the determination to form and nurture this Clan."

Pain slashed through Blizzard's backbone, causing the lower part of her back to dip. Blizzard recovered quickly, and a brown Tom stepped out.

"I am Squirrelstorm, Snowstar's deputy," the Tom said calmly. "I died alongside Snowstar, defending SnowClan. With this life I give you the strength to defend your Clan to the utmost."

Blizzard felt prickles of pain on her chest. She gasped for breath, and had barely recovered when a Siamese she-cat stepped out from the ranks.

"I am Willowleaf," she said. "I was one of the many warriors who died defending SnowClan. With this life I give you the wisdom to make the right choices even in tough times."

Blizzard's head throbbed. It was most likely the worst headache she had ever had. A golden cat walked out from the ranks of cats.

"I am Sunfern. I was killed while out hunting after being bitten by a poisonous snake and was too foolish to return to camp. With this life I give you the gift of love, like a queen has for her kits."

Blizzard had a burning feeling throughout her body. A tortoiseshell cat came out next.

"I am Turtlepelt. I became blind after losing both eyes in a fight with a dog. With this life, I give you the power of friendship. Forming this Clan will be difficult, but you will find friends that will last you many lifetimes."

Blizzard's eyes burned, as if she had gotten sand in them. However, she was amazed that this cat managed to persevere through her injury. An albino Tom padded up to her.

"I am Whitetail. I died defending some kits from a fox. With this life I give you luck, to win even when you are losing, or when things don't go your way."

The back of Blizzard's neck pained her so much that she almost wished someone would cut it off. A small grey-white kit walked towards where Blizzard was standing.

"I am Featherkit. I died in a fox attack. With this life, I give you the courage to push through the tough spots in life."

Blizzard's lungs burned with a passion. This caused her to struggle for air again, and she was thankful that she only had two lives left. An elderly brown-red she-cat slowly stepped out of the ranks.

"I am Redfang, an elder who died of greencough." The she-cat took a breath, as if this short statement took an immense effort. Then she continued. "With this life, I give you justice, to judge things fairly."

Blizzard's throat became very dry, to the point of pain. She began to cough uncontrollably, and each cough pained her even more. Eventually, Blizzard managed to stop coughing. A tiny orange-brown Tom was waiting in front of her.

"I am Dapplenose. I was born small, and I was quickly overwhelmed in a battle. With this life I give you the compassion to care for other cats that are not as strong as you."

Blizzard felt as though she had been crushed, and her legs gave out underneath her.

"Rise, Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan!"

Blizzardstar stood, her strength renewed. Looking at the StarClan cats, she smiled.

"Blizzardstar, Blizzardstar, Blizzardstar!" The StarClan cats cheered.

The starry fields vanished, and Blizzard hit the stone floor of the cave with a sharp thud. Blizzardstar forced herself to wake up from her state of half-sleep. Mysticmist stood behind her.

"Did you get all nine lives?" Mysticmist questioned.

"You bet I did!" replied the tired, yet elated Blizzardstar. "Didn't you see it? I'm Blizzardstar now!"

Mysticmist smiled and purred to her friend, who was now also her leader. "I didn't see it, I just walked in. Ember and Survivor are waiting for us, and we should get back. And maybe pick up some fresh-kill for Argo and the kits, as well as us. So, I guess I have to call you Blizzardstar now, huh? Well then, you have to call me my new name too. Mysticmist."

Blizzardstar smiled at Mysticmist's enthusiasm. They both padded out of the medicine cat cave and went to fetch their friends. As Mysticmist had said, Ember and Survivor were waiting.

"So, Blizzard," Ember began. Blizzardstar stopped her.

"Its Blizzardstar now," she meowed.

Ember and Survivor smiled at their leader.

After thanking Boulderstar and Graymist for their hospitality, Mysticmist, Ember, Survivor, and Blizzardstar left for their camp. Mysticmist's leg had healed almost overnight, and they made great progress.

They stopped before entering the camp to hunt. They were welcomed by a swarm of kits and by Argo, who was in a much better mood. "Welcome back! It took you longer than I expected."

Ember took a swallow and two rabbits for her and her kits and headed to the nursery. Mysticmist and Blizzardstar informed everybody of their new status. They agreed to hold the ceremonies after they ate. While eating, Survivor pointed out a rock outcropping that jutted out over the large central cave. "When did that happen?" she asked. "It wasn't here before we left."

"It happened while you were gone," Argo meowed. "Must have been some sort of shift in the ground. It seems perfect for addressing the Clan, doesn't it? StarClan must have made it so that you have a proper place to address the Clan."Blizzardstar nodded in agreement.

They finished eating, and the sun had already set, painting the sky orange, pink, and crimson red. Blizzardstar made the leap of a few tail-lengths to what they had begun to call Juttingrock.

"Let all those cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather under Juttingrock."

As SnowClan's cats, except for Ember's kits, who sat asleep in the nursery, gathered in the central cave, Blizzardstar watched attentively.

"Survivor, please join me on Juttingrock." Survivor leaped onto the five tail-lengths long rock to join Blizzardstar.

"I Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon Survivor. She has worked hard to learn to hunt and defend, and I commend her to you in her turn. Survivor, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Survivor, from this moment on you will be known as Icewish. StarClan honors your strength and perseverance, and welcome you as a full warrior of SnowClan."

Smiling, Icewish jumped down from Juttingrock. Blizzardstar called up Argo.

"Argo, please join me on Juttingrock.

I Blizzardstar leader of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. He has trained hard, and commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Argo, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Argo, from this moment on you will be known as Bluefern. StarClan honors your compassion and loyalty, and welcome you as a full warrior of SnowClan."

Ember's ceremony came next, and she became Embersong.

Blizzardstar ended the Clan meeting, and jumped down from Juttingrock. "I guess this will be a long night for all of you," Blizzardstar said. "Better go and get some sleep while you still can!"

"But our fresh-kill pile is getting low, how will we-" Bluefern began.

"I can take care of that. There are still quite a few mice running around in these various caves," Blizzardstar countered. "Don't worry about it. You all need your sleep for tonight, and I noticed a Twolegplace on the other side of the mountain. I was thinking that we could go look for more cats to join us a few days from now."

**I didn't mean for this random line to be here, but I couldn't get rid of it. Sorry about that. I didn't want to do all the gushy 'love' stuff, but I ran out of ideas.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Here's chapter six. Anyway, remember to review if you like it or if you don't, and don't be a hater!**

Chapter 6

"What do you mean they _escaped_? You couldn't stop them at the Thunderpath? Do I need to appoint someone different, Silver?"

"No! I mean, no. I'm doing fine. I just didn't realize that-"the frail gray Tom began, his amber eyes silently pleading with the enraged cat opposite him.

"Yes, and that's _exactly_ why I cannot trust you anymore."

"Scar! No! I…I-"

Scar hissed a "shut up". "Crimson. Looks like you finally have your chance. Why don't you go and check the Tunderpath? I need to think right now." Crimson, a tortoiseshell she-cat, flashed a smirk at the deflated Silver. She padded up to the Tom named Scar.

"Scar, I was thinking about something," Crimson began, looking down at the ground. Out of the corner of her mouth, Crimson was flashing Silver a pure white fang. _No! How would she know about that? Oh, please, don't let it be that…_ Silver fretted.

"Yes, Crimson? Make it quick. I have something to attend to."

"I understand. But I actually want to report a crime…on the behalf of Silver."

"What?" Scar hissed.

"I saw him helping a group of cats escape the other day. I wasn't fast enough to stop them, and I ask for your forgiveness because of that. However, I believe that that Silver's crime should be punished."

Scar's small trusted group of cats nodded in agreement.

"Tear his eyes out!" they yelled.

"Make him suffer for helping them! He's not loyal to you Scar!"

Silver, who stood shaking in fear in a corner, his eyes wide with fear, could only wait for his punishment in silence. The various strays and kittypets still stayed loyal to Scar, even when one of their own was punished. Scar sat in silence, seemingly contemplating what would cause Silver the most pain.

"Silver," he finally meowed. The crowd of cats quieted down. "Don't you have a sister?"

"Ye-yes," Silver replied, stammering. _What does that have to do with anything?_

"And how old is she?"

"Al-almost f-four moons now." _Why does he want to know?_

"Go home and see her."

Silver and the other cats stared in shock. Scar, letting something like this go? A violation of the law? "Th-thank you!" Silver finally meowed in response. He sighed somewhat silently in relief.

"But Scar-" Crimson mewed in exasperation.

"Later, Crimson. Let Silver be…for now."

Silver turned out of the small courtyard, and ran for the junkyard where he and his sister lived.

As soon as Silver darted out of the courtyard, the group of cats who had come to watch silently sulked out. "Crimson," Scar said before she could leave. "Come."

Crimson turned to look at Scar. He had a scar down his right ear that ran into his right eye. It had caused it to turn milky and blue, but Crimson wasn't sure how he got it. He was medium-sized, and had white and brown stripes. His one good eye was orange-red, and he had another scar down the length of the left side of his body.

Crimson walked back to Scar. "Yes?" she asked, whispering.

"Follow Silver. Take Scrap with you. Kill his sister first. Then him."

Crimson flashed her white fangs again. This was her first time doing this, but she found a sadistic joy in paining cats like Silver. They didn't deserve all they got. But now, she would finally be able to get rid of Silver, at least. Crimson turned to leave for her Twoleg nest, still smiling with sadistic joy.

"Just grab that next branch there, Fuzzypaw. Yes, that one. There you go! Now keep climbing. Almost there…There! See! You did it!" Bluefern meowed encouragingly to his new apprentice, Fuzzypaw.

An exhausted Fuzzypaw simply replied, "Yeah…" Fuzzypaw gradually got his breath back, and eventually started talking again. "So why is it that I need to learn to climb trees?" He asked.

"It helps you when you climb up to the camp. It _is_ kind of like climbing a tree."

"Oh. Ok then."

They began the gradual process of climbing down the tree.

Just yesterday, Blizzardstar, Icewish, and Bluefern had gone into the Twolegplace to find some cats to join them. They had found two strays and a kittypet. The two strays were sisters, and had become Whitepaw and Sapphirespirit. The kittypet became Fuzzypaw. Sapphirespirit had told them of Scar, and how he would be most unhappy that they had taken three of his cats. Blizzardstar had asked, "How are they his cats? It's not like they are in a Clan, as we are."

As a reply, Sapphirespirit had said, "It seems like he just does. He considers almost all cats to be part of his sadistic group. If he had caught us… I don't want to think about it. He hates it when cats leave for a better life out in the forest. Scar is very strict when it comes to leaving. There was a cat that helped a friend of ours escape, and I haven't really heard anything since, but he most likely was punished. Harshly."

Blizzardstar had been worrying about this, but later decided that they would fare just fine even if Scar did attack. But Blizzardstar couldn't let off her guard. She immediately told Bluefern to instruct all three cats on basic attack moves, as a precaution. The three of them got it quickly, luckily, and it had only taken up the whole morning and part of the afternoon, which was shorter than was expected. Now Blizzardstar sat in the dry grass, watching her Clan.

Embersong played a little further down with her kits, who had found a feather to mess with. Icewish played along with them, giving Embersong a good rest. Blizzardstar looked the other direction. Bluefern and Fuzzypaw were climbing trees and learning to hunt, while Mysticmist and Whitepaw were gathering herbs. Mysticmist was showing Whitepaw some deathberries, and telling her why you should _not_ use them except for on sore areas, but never on open cuts.

Bluefern and Fuzzypaw decided to finish training for the day. Bluefern asked Fuzzypaw to get Icewish and Whitepaw to go hunting.

"I'll fill in for Whitepaw. She's busy with Mysticmist, as I can see, and I need to do something other than lay in the grass all day," Blizzardstar meowed as she trotted up to Bluefern and Fuzzypaw.

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Blizzardstar, Bluefern, Icewish, and Fuzzypaw had a lucrative night of hunting. The fresh-kill pile was now full of juicy rabbits, a few squirrels, birds, and even a vole. Bluefern and Icewish had left to sleep for the night, and Blizzardstar asked Fuzzypaw to bring the vole to Embersong. Blizzardstar picked up a bird, and went to visit Mysticmist.

As usual, Mysticmist was keeping Whitepaw up on her ridiculous hours. She was showing Whitepaw how to organize the various herbs, and explaining further their uses.

"Hello Mysticmist, Whitepaw. I brought this for you two," Blizzard interrupted, dropping the mockingbird on the cave floor. "I figured that at least one of you would be hungry."

Whitepaw immediately devoured the mockingbird. However Whitepaw Blizzardstar noticed this, and meowed, "Whitepaw. You should get some rest. There's another day of this tomorrow."

Whitepaw nodded to Blizzardstar, and she left the medicine cat cave. Blizzardstar now turned her attention to Mysticmist. "Anything new that I should know?"

Mysticmist shook her head. "No. But really," Mysticmist added with a smile, "You should trust me to tell you when something does. I'll be done here soon, and I think even a leader needs rest. I wouldn't waste one of your nine lives by dying of sleep deprivation."

Blizzardstar returned this with a shake of her head and a smile. "Alright then. But don't stay up too late. No cat likes a grumpy mentor _or_ medicine cat." Blizzardstar turned to leave the medicine cat cave, and went out into the large main cavern. She ran to the rock face to her left, and leapt up to the warrior den. She peeked inside.

Bluefern slept on one of the moss nests that Whitepaw and Fuzzypaw had helped to make. Bluefern had insisted on not having a separate cave for him to use. Blizzardstar crept further in, so she could peek in on the apprentices. Whitepaw and Fuzzypaw had apparently decided to share a moss nest, and seemed to be sleeping soundly.

Blizzardstar made her way to her den. She curled up in the moss nest, and closed her eyes.

High grass brushed by her sides. A slight breeze carried the scent of the monsters nearby, and of the Twolegplace. Crimson lay completely still by the side of the Thunderpath. Scrap, in all his dark gray self, stood beside her. Flash's gold color stood out in the dark of the night, as there was no moon in the sky. Crimson sat in wait. _Just a little while longer,_ she thought. _Just a little more time._

When she felt it was the right time, Crimson, Flash, and Scrap dashed across the Thunderpath. Monsters zoomed across behind them, and they made the gradual ascent into the mountains.

They were going to get those stupid Clan cats back. As well as the traitors. Crimson almost smiled at the thought of her first soon-to-be battle. Despite the fact that no one knew she was going to attack. Chances are, Scar would either be impressed or cross with her.

Whitepaw tossed and turned in the moss nest she was sharing with Fuzzypaw. Fuzzypaw woke to her commotion. "What's wrong?" he moaned. "I just want to sleep…"

"Sorry. I _can't _sleep. I feel like we're in danger."

"Oh. That's nice. Go think that somewhere else. I want to sleep now."

Whitepaw got up and ran out of the apprentice's den. Quickly getting her bearings, since she felt a little woozy, she dashed out of the warrior's den and into the cave wall leading to the main cavern. _Thud_. Whitepaw felt horrible now, but she had to get to Mysticmist. She jumped down into the main cavern, and ran into the medicine cat cave. "Mysticmist!" she whispered with urgency. "Where are you? I need to talk with you! I had this dream, and-"

Whitepaw heard cats fighting outside. A yowl of pain reached her ears. Still in shock, Whitepaw stood there. She quickly shook herself out of it, and screamed, "Someone is attacking!"

Blizzardstar woke to Whitepaw's yowl saying the Clan was under attack. She hissed to herself, and ran to the warrior's den. Bluefern and Icewish were up, and were waking everyone else. Blizzardstar ran and jumped into the main cavern. Her paws landed on the gray rock with a dull _thump_. She ran until she reached the entrance of the cave. She looked outside, and saw Mysticmist on the ground, unmoving. Whitepaw was helplessly trying to fend off the three attackers.

A large golden Tom swiped at Whitepaw's face and knocked her to the ground. Red stained the white fur on Whitepaw's muzzle. Unable to simply sit and watch, Blizzardstar quickly climbed down to the battle. Bluefern, Icewish, and Fuzzypaw came down after her. Embersong had stayed inside, as she was feeling unwell and was going to be the last defense. Blizzardstar, Bluefern, Icewish, and Fuzzypaw rushed into battle. A tortoiseshell she-cat leapt at Blizzardstar, and managed to knock her to the ground.

Blizzardstar hissed and slashed at the she-cat. Blizzardstar's paw connected with the she-cat's right ear. Now in pain, the tortoiseshell cat backed off just enough for Blizzardstar to push her over and reverse their positions. Blizzardstar bit at the she-cat, but her attacker turned her head. Blizzardstar got a mouthful of dirt, and the tortoiseshell took advantage of this. Blizzardstar yowled in pain as the she-cat sunk her teeth into Blizzardstar's neck.

Blizzardstar was forced to the ground, and tried helplessly to injure her attacker, or at least get the cat off of her neck. Her claws could not reach the she-cat, and moving her head was out of the question. The she-cat bit down harder, and Blizzardstar's vision went black for a moment. Blood seeped into the ground underneath Blizzardstar, as her neck wound poured blood onto the dirt.

The she-cat released suddenly, surprised by Icewish, who had used her unusually strong hind legs to push the tortoiseshell cat off of her leader. Blizzardstar was woozy from blood loss, but managed to rejoin the fight. Icewish and the she-cat wrestled, and Icewish got off a hit. The she-cat shrieked as Icewish's claws connected with her eyes. With a last futile attempt to injure Icewish, the cat blindly clawed at Icewish's face. Her claws connected with Icewish's muzzle, but did no real damage, causing only a small cut. Severely injured, the she-cat turned tail and ran in the general direction of the Twolegplace. Icewish turned to a golden Tom.

Fuzzypaw and Mysticmist were too injured to return to battle now, and were on the far side of where the battle was taking place. Mysticmist was still unconscious, and had a torn ear and a deep gash on her right hind leg. Fuzzypaw's left eye was swollen shut, and a third of his tail was severed.

Bluefern was locked in battle with a dark gray tom, with Blizzardstar aiding him. The dark gray tom slashed at Bluefern's chest, but missed. Bluefern bit down on the tom's neck, severing a major artery. The tom clawed at Bluefern's face and sides, and caused several cuts, but nothing major. The tom went limp, and Bluefern released his grip. Both Bluefern and Blizzardstar turned their sights on the golden tom that Icewish was facing.

The tom was crouching, protecting his stomach. The SnowClan cats stared at each other for a few moments, and Blizzardstar and Bluefern did their best to close the distance quickly. The golden tom leapt at Icewish, too quick for Blizzardstar or Bluefern to attack first. Icewish's and the tom's bodies connected in midair jumps, but Icewish had gotten much more strength in her jump, and she landed on top of the golden tom. There was a sharp crack, and the tom yowled. He had landed on his side, and the impact had cracked the bone in his left leg. He raked at Icewish's vulnerable stomach with his hind claws. Icewish kept her paw on his neck, even though her first instinct was to let go. However, the tom rolled to his right, catching Icewish's paw. Icewish tripped and fell, and Bluefern had finally closed the distance, with Blizzardstar behind. Bluefern pounced on the golden tom, and landed on his back with a loud _crack_. The tom went limp.

Icewish pulled her paw out from under the tom's body, and stood.

"Well, that was definitely something," she panted. "I think this would've gone better if they didn't surprise us." **(AN: If you're wondering why they fought so horribly, take into mind that Mysticmist and Whitepaw had been in a 1 to 3 fight, Blizzardstar was simply pinned, Bluefern did pretty well, actually, and Icewish was determined to kill that last tom. And she didn't. So no raging about what horrible fighters they are. Please? And I just didn't feel like having Embersong in the fight. So no arguments about it. Period.)**

Icewish, Bluefern, and Blizzardstar trotted over to the injured Whitepaw and the waking Mysticmist. Slowly, the SnowClan cats made it back into camp. Whitepaw treated Mysticmist's leg injury, and tended to Icewish's stomach after Mysticmist had treated her eye. Mysticmist took care of Blizzardstar's neck. Fuzzypaw had no horrible injuries, as well as Bluefern. They sat on one side of the medicine cat cave, waiting patiently to be treated for their injuries.

"I think that those cats were sent by Scar," Mysticmist said as she applied some chewed up yarrow to Blizzardstar's neck. "He most likely wants to either get his cats back or kill them."

"I honestly think that three cats are too few to take on a whole Clan, despite the fact that we are still a small clan. If Scar wanted to ensure that he got his cats back, he would have sent more cats. I think they came on their own, but why attack? Maybe they are part of Scar's group, but I'm almost certain they came on their own. Maybe they did it to impress Scar." Bluefern added.

"Lot of good that did them," Icewish meowed, throwing in her two cents. "They're all dead."

"Except for that one tortoiseshell she-cat. But she won't survive for long if she is blind," Blizzardstar said.

;';';';';';';';';';';';';';'';;';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';

Crimson ran blindly onto the Thunderpath. _My eyes, _she silently screamed in her head. _My eyes! I can't see! I'm blind!_ Her nose and ears guided her to where she knew Scar was most of the time. She ran into the courtyard. _Oh, please see me. I don't even know where anyone is!_ Crimson realized that Scar might dispose of her, since she was now blind. She also realized that her Twolegs could help her. But she needed to tell Scar first, and act like she didn't run away and betray Flash and Scrap. _I'll take more cats next time. I will go back, and get kill that stupid cat that took away my sight! And then I'll kill the rest of them…_

**Yay for cliffhangers! Well, not really, but who cares? It's an approximate. So, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! I'm still in need of names for kittypets and strays, if you have any. Descriptions help. The names in this chapter, except for Crimson and Scrap, which were mine, came courtesy of GraymistofLeafClan. I will be super-productive for you guys over my spring break, so I might get more chapters out. Also, I'm open for suggestions on how I should have them find more members. I'm at a loss right now, since they already visited Twolegplace… So anyway, PM me your cats, and I will try to use them when Crimson gets her revenge! Or Scar's. (Hint at a backstory! Yay! Post in the reviews what you think it is!) And remember, don't be a hater. Haters keep on hating, potatoes keep on potatoing.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again, my lovely readers! I'm happy, because I just came up with more ways for Crimson to cheat, lie, and kill, in just one day! It's a new record! For me. I mean for me. OK, well anyway, here's the amazing chapter seven, and don't forget to review!**

Chapter 7

Fang pushed the newspaper aside. He sniffed the garbage that had come from the Twoleg's trash can, but couldn't smell anything. Fang sighed. Yet another slow day in the stupid trash pile. Yet another day stuck in Twolegplace.

"Maybe we should just leave. You know, go into the mountains," Fang meowed to his mate, Megan. She was a kittypet, but still accompanied Fang when he went garbage hunting. Megan had the brown pellets the Twolegs gave all kittypets, but she seemed fine with garbage.

"Oh, Fang. I don't know… If Scar found out, we could die."

"I know," he purred, turning to rub his head on his mate's. "I just can't continue like this."

Megan bowed her head. "I get it. It's just-"

"Megan, come with me. We can make it together. I can teach you how to hunt, and defend yourself. Please!" Fang begged. Megan gave Fang a withering gaze.

"And leave my Twolegs?"

"Megan, your Twolegs are a piece of foxdung. Just come with me."

"Alright! I'll come. But we have to leave soon…"

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Crimson sat in the darkness. Or it could have been bright. She would never be able to tell. When she was in the courtyard a few days ago, Scar or anyone else had never come. Crimson had gone to her Twolegs for help, and they had taken her to a strange place. There was a Twoleg that had attempted to save her vision, but it had obviously not worked. Now she sat back in her Twoleg's nest, 'resting'. In reality though, she had formulated a plan.

When Crimson had lost her vision, she had found her other senses heightened. She could smell incredibly well, and tell the difference between even the most similar scents. Her hearing got-and gets- increasingly better, and allows her to get around somewhat well. Slowly standing, Crimson made her way outside.

Crimson smelled her way to an alleyway where she had arranged a meeting. Adam and Karl were waiting for her there; Crimson could smell them. She slowly made her way toward them. "Adam. Karl," Crimson said as she walked past them. She sat by one wall of the narrow alley. "So, how have you both been?"

"Better than you, obviously," Karl growled. Crimson hissed in response.

"Shut up Karl! We're not here to talk about Crimson."

"Yes, we're not here to talk about me. Now, who do we have so far?"

"Well," Adam began. "There's Yarrow. Fang and Megan are coming too. Ona and Bruce will also help. Nella and Ginger are a maybe."

Adam's brother continued. "Also, we have Lilac and Gale in the initial fight."

"What about Opal and Ranka?"

"Yes," Adam responded.

"Good," Crimson said, and she turned to leave for her Twoleg's nest.

"I don't get it, Mysticmist. I mean, I hardly even get my dreams, much less yours."

"No, Whitepaw. That's not what I mean. I mean that I think those cats we fought weren't the last ones. I have a feeling that there's more coming."

"And you got that by dreaming of a flood? Is that it?"

Mysticmist shook her head. "No. To me, the flood simply means that there is danger coming. I also don't get the white lines in the darkness, but I know that they look a lot like fangs. I don't know, Whitepaw. I just don't know. Well, why don't you go check on Icewish and Blizzardstar for me, while I try to sort this all of this out." -==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Crimson pawed the mouse between her paws. Leaving the pink mouse toy on the floor, Crimson stood and made her way to the backyard. The sun, which was now high overhead, it seemed, shone its rays on Crimson. She approximated that it was about halfway through its journey across the sky, from the heat it was giving off. Crimson sat patiently in the middle of the yard, waiting for a friend to show up.

It was a few minutes before Snow clambered over the fence.

"Ah, Snow. You managed to be roughly on time this time."

"Sorry, Crimson. I was caught up in the park."

"It's alright. So how was your day?" Crimson questioned, standing and walking towards Snow.

"Oh, it was fine. It's a nice day too."

"Shame you won't be able to enjoy it."

"Wait. What?"

"Who said I can't do my duty even when I'm blind? You didn't think I couldn't hear you last night? Conspiring with traitors. I arranged a meeting with them, as well. I wonder what their reactions will be when they see your dead body," Crimson meowed, grinning. Her white teeth bit down on Snow's neck, severed the major artery, and then released. Snow's body fell to the ground, and stained the grass with crimson red blood. Crimson smiled, except her teeth were no longer white. They were red with blood. Crimson turned her back on the body, and calmly padded back inside her Twoleg's nest.

She sat in wait, just barely inside. She heard the loose board of the fence clacking, signaling that Narma and Argus had arrived. They had long since been suspected of helping cats escape into the forest, and Crimson had decided to put an end to it. Crimson crept outside, unseen, as soon as she heard their shocked gasps. Crimson snuck up behind Narma, who was suspected to be the brains of the operation. Crimson pounced on Narma, and snapped the vertebrae in her back. Argus turned, and started to try to leave the yard.

"Leaving so soon? Well, next time you get invited to a party, make sure that it's an actual party. And check to see who's inviting you. Now, I think it's due time for the games to start," Crimson said, happiness in her voice. Crimson tilted her head to listen to where Argus had moved off to. She turned to her right, and jumped. Crimson knocked Argus to the side, and slammed his head on the fence. Crimson kept pressure on his neck until he went unconscious.

Crimson raised her claws, and struck the tom on one eye. She felt the blood run under her claws. _There. That'll teach him to mess with us._ Crimson quickly cleaned her paw, and padded back inside. Crimson turned around a corner in the Twoleg nest and found her mouse toy. She playfully hit it between her paws, passing the time.

After a few minutes, she heard the shocked squeal of her Twoleg. _Well, nice to know she'll finally clean up the mess._

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][]][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][[][][][][[][][[][][]][][][][

"Snow and Narma are gone. Argus won't be helping any cats cross the Thunderpath again," Crimson announced to the gathered cats. A soft murmur went through the crowd. _She actually went through with it? How did she do it? She's blind!_ Crimson flashed one of her infamous grins. A cool breeze swept through the courtyard.

"Crimson, I understand now that you are still capable of deception, and to act on your plans," Scar told her. "However, you can no longer work by the Thunderpath. I ask you to be my…_personal_ assistant."

Crimson could not see, but she could tell that the crowd was shocked. Scar, appointing a blind she-cat to be one of the most respected cats in Twolegplace? Crimson bowed her head. "Thank you, Scar."

The various gathered cats left the courtyard. Crimson stayed behind, long after everyone had left. Crimson had felt drawn to Scar ever since she was around twelve moons. She was drawn to his power, how he managed to control all of Twolegplace by killing the occasional cat and placing down laws. Crimson had started moving up the hierarchy soon after that. She had officially reached the top. Grinning, Crimson left for home, ready to start the next part of her plan.

Ginger tossed and turned in her nest. She had been having trouble sleeping, but her Twolegs paid no attention to her problems. Ginger quickly sat up and cleaned her brown fur. Standing and stretching, Ginger startled herself when she saw her reflection in the glass leading to the next room. Her blue eyes reflected the light coming from outside, and the white fur around her eyes simply made her reflection more startling. Annoyed with herself for being startled so easily, Ginger bared her teeth at her reflection. Ginger walked out into the yard.

Ginger readied herself for the jump over the short fence. She jumped over, and landed on the other side with a _thud_. She ran toward the smell of the Thunderpath. A cold breeze blew across her back, making her shiver. Ginger waited for a bright yellow monster to pass, and then took off across the Thunderpath. She ran up the mountain. She didn't get far, when she realized the scent of this place was different. It smelled like different cats, but it was one specific scent. _Odd_, Ginger thought, tilting her head. The cold breeze grew stronger. Ginger looked for shelter, as the wind was gradually getting colder and stronger. Spotting a cave entrance, Ginger began to climb up the rock face to get to it.

Mysticmist, who was up organizing herbs as usual, heard the sound of claws on rock. Curious to see what it was, she padded out of the medicine cat cave and into the main cavern. A pair of bright blue eyes greeted her. Mysticmist hissed in surprise.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was your cave," the other cat said.

"It's not mine. It's SnowClan's. What's your business here?" Mysticmist responded, wary, but also curious.

"I came from the Twolegplace. I couldn't do it anymore. Can I stay? I have nowhere else to go. I used to be a kittypet, so I don't really know how to survive out here."

Mysticmist nodded. "Of course you can stay. In the morning you can start your training and get your warrior name. You can join SnowClan."

Crimson woke with a start. Upon realizing that it was only the dog next door, Crimson laid back down in her nest. Feeling cold all of a sudden, Crimson curled into a ball. The cold draft continued to blow, and Crimson realized she wouldn't be able to sleep yet. She got up, and went off to see where the breeze was coming from. Crimson followed the breeze outside, not paying any mind to the open door leading outside. Crimson continued down the steps, and felt her paw touch the cold grass. _It must have rained. The grass is wet._ Crimson's nose would be no good, as the scents of wet grass and moist air flooded her nose. Crimson continued further into the yard. She sensed someone else was there. Then Crimson recognized the scent. She turned to face Adam.

"Hello," she purred. She got no response. Annoyed, Crimson continued. "I can't hear a nod, you know."

"Sorry. I came to say that everyone is on board. Karl and I will participate as well."

"That's fantastic! The more the merrier! Now then, I believe we have to discuss a plan, yes?"

"I believe so."

"But tell me. Why didn't your brother come?"

"He was…caught up in something."

"Ah." Crimson turned toward Adam. She sat down in front of him. "And what sort of something was he caught up in?"

"Uh…"

"If you want to lie to me, you could at least be a better liar." Crimson brought up both her front paws, unsheathed her claws, and brought them down forcefully on Adam's head. Crimson's claws sunk into his head, and she kept her claws in until Adam went limp. His body fell to the ground, and Crimson pulled her claws out of his head. She dragged the body up and over the fence, letting it drop on the other side. Crimson quickly climbed back over the fence. Once back on the right side, Crimson sat down to clean her paws. She padded back inside, and curled back up in her nest.

Crimson closed her eyes, now free of the draft, and went to sleep.

Heat streamed into the now warm room. Crimson rose from her deep sleep, and stretched. She trotted outside, and climbed over the fence. The loose board clacked behind her. Crimson trotted casually out into the park, and jumped on top of a bench. Sitting down, Crimson twitched her tail impatiently. Finally, Karl walked up. Karl jumped up on the bench next to Crimson, and sat down.

"I heard that your brother died last night. I'm terribly sorry for you."

"Thank you. But don't act like you didn't do it."

Crimson turned her head in Karl's general direction. "I like you, Karl. Don't ruin that. You of all cats should know that it's not a good thing to be on my bad side."

"Like you _have_ a good side, Crimson. Now, let's change the course of this conversation. You called me here for a reason other than to talk about Adam. What is it?"

"I need more cats."

"More cats! Are you joking? You've got twelve already, including yourself."

"Really? Name them for me."

"Ranka, Opal, Gale, Lilac, Nella, Ona, Yarrow, me, you, Megan, Bruce, and Fang. They're not enough?"

"Opal counts as half. Megan is also half. Lilac doesn't count at all. They're bad fighters, Karl. Admit it. That brings our total down to ten. I want fifteen."

"What? Are you out of your mind? Fifteen is too much! It's overkill!"

"And I want to be assured that you can do it. I want those cats dead, and fifteen seals the deal. Remember, this is your last debt to me, Karl. One last job…"

Crimson could sense that Karl was getting uneasy. However, he finally responded.

"Fine. But don't expect them by tomorrow. My brother was the convincing one, not me."

Karl left the bench, and ran off somewhere to Crimson's right. As soon as Crimson knew he was gone, she grinned. _Yes, it's your last job. I never said why. I just have to figure out how to get rid of this hole._ Crimson jumped off the bench, and ran to the junkyard.

She stopped at the entrance, and could feel the three pairs of eyes on her.

"I have a preposition."

**OK I'm done with Crimson for a few chapters. I refuse to let you all watch her cheat and lie to other cats for another chapter. Besides, my brain hurts too much to figure out who Crimson is going to cheat, and I want to go back to the easier to plan Clan life. Crimson is making my life so much harder…at least when I plan. I mean, I have to come up with all these different cats, and how she's going to convince them to join her suicide mission! Seriously! Well, now I'm done raging, so don't forget to review, and don't be a potato!**

**(P.S. I'm still looking for kittypet/stray names, so PM me your cats! Let's see who wants to name the special three cats that Crimson saw today!)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi my amazing readers! Don't forget to review! Also, no whining about how I'm not talking about Crimson. She needs time to plan, and I need time to get rid of my migraine and get more cats before she kills everyone. Anyway, hope you enjoy this simpler chapter about SnowClan rather than a bloodthirsty she-cat with a catchy smile.**

Chapter 8

"Catch me if you can!"

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Wolfkit chased after Icekit. Icekit ran underneath Embersong, and Wolfkit, being the larger of the two, ran headfirst into his mother's side.

"Icekit! Wolfkit! Please, relax for a bit. I'm surprised that Tigerkit hasn't joined you yet.Why don't you go ask Icewish to play with you? I know you like her."

"Yeah, but if we ask her to tell stories, they're always depressing," Wolfkit mewed, shoving his face into Embersong's side, trying to push her. Embersong pushed him away.

"How about this? You three go inside and nap all day."

"Aw…but that's no fun."

"Then relax a bit. Only a quarter-moon from now, you'll all be apprentices! Then you'll get to explore the forest. Save your energy for that! It's not that easy, you can ask Fuzzypaw or Whitepaw, and they will tell you the same thing."

Having an idea spark, Wolfkit, Tigerkit, and Icekit all ran to see Bluefern.

"Bluefern! Bluefern! Can we start being apprentices?" Icekit asked, running up to Bluefern.

"Yeah! Like all the training and stuff?" Tigerkit continued.

Bluefern shook his head. "You're not old enough yet! It's against warrior code for me to teach you."

"Aw, come on!" Wolfkit pleaded.

Bluefern shook his head again, and walked off to talk with Fuzzypaw.

"Fuzzypaw, go find Tangleclaw and see if she's up for border patrol. I believe that we need to mark our territory, as we haven't done so for a few days."

"OK, I'll go get her. I think she's in the warrior den, sleeping. She had a _long_ night last night…"

"And why are you telling me this? Come on!"

Fuzzypaw took off toward camp, and Bluefern padded over to Icewish. Sitting down, he started up a conversation.

"Those kits…how do you do it?"

"Don't even ask. I just do it. I suppose it's hard to explain…"

Smiling, Bluefern added, "I wouldn't be surprised if they disappeared off into the forest one day out of curiosity. Keep an eye on them, will you? I'm going to take Fuzzypaw and Tangleclaw on border patrol.

Fuzzypaw returned with Tangleclaw, who could not stop yawning. Bluefern then realized how he had felt after his night on watch.

"Tangleclaw, I think you should stay. I'll take Icewish instead."

"Thank you," Tangleclaw yawned. She walked over to Icewish, and sat down next to her. Icewish stood up and came trotting over.

"Well, I guess we will finally get this patrol going. I just hope she doesn't fall asleep out here. Embersong looks like she can barely keep her eyes open. I hope those kits aren't too curious to see what the forest looks like," Icewish meowed, making her way next to Bluefern. Bluefern only nodded in response. "Hopefully Blizzardstar would see it before it happens, or Mysticmist and Whitepaw."

Bluefern, Icewish, and Fuzzypaw made a few loops around SnowClan territory. They found nothing out of the ordinary. They started to make their way back to camp, when they heard a whisper.

"Who's there?" Fuzzypaw asked. He looked in between some bushes, and saw two pairs of eyes; one pair was yellow, and the other was a dark brown color. Fuzzypaw hissed at the eyes. "Show yourselves!"

Two toms walked out of the bushes. One seemed older than the other, and had three orange stripes cutting through his black coat. The smaller tom seemed to be around seven or eight moons, and was an orange-brown color, and had deep brown eyes. The older tom had yellow eyes. The black and orange tom spoke first.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know a Clan had moved in."

"That is why we are doing a border patrol," Icewish meowed. "Anyway, what is your business here?"

"We have been surviving out here for three or so moons. We came from the Twolegplace, where we were strays," the younger tom said. "Claw here has been taking care of me ever since I was a kit."

"So you are not related?" Bluefern asked.

"No," Claw responded. "But we do need somewhere permanent. Is your Clan looking for new members?"

"Not necessarily, but you will be welcomed into SnowClan, if you wish," Icewish told the two toms. Both their eyes lit up. "Follow us back to camp. We were on our way back anyway."

The group of five made it back to camp an hour or so later, picking up some fresh-kill on the way. Bluefern ran ahead to talk to Blizzardstar about the new members.

"Perhaps Claw could become a warrior, and be apprenticed to the younger tom. They are close already, and should know about hunting and defending themselves. We would just have to help improve their skills."

Blizzardstar thought about this. She then nodded, and said, "I will hold the ceremony now, so that Claw could get his rest for the night vigil."

Blizzardstar walked to the main cavern, and jumped onto Juttingrock. At the top of her lungs, she yelled, "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Juttingrock!" Bluefern and Mysticmist sat directly underneath Juttingrock. Whitepaw, Fuzzypaw, the younger tom, Icewish, and Embersong sat further back. Claw was on Juttingrock with Blizzardstar. Blizzardstar began the ceremony.

"I, Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. He has worked hard his whole life to learn how to hunt and defend himself, and I commend him to you in his turn. Claw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Claw, from this moment on you shall be known as Sparrowtail. StarClan honors your honesty and compassion, and welcome you as a full warrior of SnowClan."

Sparrowtail smiled.

"Sparrowtail, Sparrowtail, Sparrowtail!" The Clan cheered. Blizzardstar continued.

"Birch," Blizzardstar began. Birch was the younger tom's name. "Please join me on Juttingrock." Birch jumped onto Juttingrock, and sat by Blizzardstar.

"This is a proud day for SnowClan. By naming apprentices, we show that SnowClan will survive and remain strong. Birch, from now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Hawkpaw." Blizzardstar turned to face Sparrowtail. "Sparrowtail, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Hawkpaw's mentor. I know you will pass on your strength and wisdom to Hawkpaw, and teach him the skills that will make him a brave warrior of SnowClan."

Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw touched noses, and the Clan cheered them on. "Hawkpaw, Hawkpaw!"

Blizzardstar ended the Clan meeting, and Hawkpaw and Sparrowtail went outside to do some quick training before Sparrowtail had to do his night vigil. Bluefern walked up beside Blizzardstar.

"Birds?" he asked. "You named them after two birds?"

"It was the only thing I could think of to connect them, in a way. Why, would you rather I named them Oakheart and Birchpaw or something? No, I liked Hawkpaw because, to me, it is a show of courage and strength, for him to perservere through being a stray all his life. A sparrow is another bird that I'm amazed by. I find them quick and intelligent, and I wanted to give them both names that show my respect for them. Of course, I'm their leader and they should be the ones showing me respect, but will they do that if I gave them bad names and disrespected them? No. Clan cats need to have respect for every member, whether they are kits or a leader. I find that important. That is why I named them after birds."

Bluefern thought about this, and realized Blizzardstar was right, but was still confused. "But why birds? I have respect for other things, as well. It doesn't mean I would name cats after them."

"Because, if you think about it, birds are more courageous than we are. They fly far above the trees, and I would never dream of trying that. They defend their children even against a large cat, or a larger bird, and don't simply give up because the odds are against them." Blizzardstar turned to look at Bluefern. "Why? Are you questioning my decision? I respect your opinion, and that is why I trust you as my deputy. But my word _is_ the warrior code."

"It's simply that I never thought about how birds could demand respect. I see them as prey, and weak, not something that demands respect. I was worried that you used those names for that reason." Bluefern shook his head. "Forget I brought it up. I don't really know why I brought it up anyway." Bluefern turned to walk back into the warrior's den. Blizzardstar watched him go.

Curious why Bluefern's personality had seemed to change, as he wouldnormally never do something like he just did, Blizzardstar went to Mysticmist. Mysticmist was inside, teaching Whitepaw what herbs could be used for what. Blizzardstar waited patiently for Mysticmist to finish her explanation on marigold.

"Whitepaw, would you mind taking Icewish to get some more poppy? We've run low."

Whitepaw nodded, and ran out to fetch Icewish. Mysticmist turned her attention to Blizzardstar.

"She's that far ahead already? I've never seen someone her age learn all these herbs so quickly," Blizzardstar meowed with amazement.

"What can I say? She's a natural. Anyway, what is the problem?"

"You said you were running out of poppy… Was that an excuse or is it true?"

"It was true, but why would it matter?"

"It can be used for aiding in sleep, right?"

"Yes." Mysticmist paused. "You want to know who has been using it, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Bluefern has. He's been coming by every other day, complaining that he's been having trouble sleeping. He refuses to tell me why, but he did say something about a dream."

Blizzardstar nodded to Mysticmist. "As always, thank you. And don't push that poor she-cat too much."

"Don't worry, I won't. We both enjoy doing this."

Blizzardstar turned to leave the medicine cat cave. She walked into the main cavern, and out onto the overhanging cliff that is used to get into camp. She looked out over the field beneath her. The golden grass swayed in the breeze, and the breeze carried some warmth with it. Blizzardstar closed her eyes to enjoy the breeze, then climbed down the cliff. Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw were practicing hunting.

"Sparrowtail!" Blizzardstar called. Sparrowtail turned to look in her direction. Blizzardstar ran up to him and Hawkpaw. "I can take over for today, since you need your rest for your night vigil later." Sparrowtail agreed, and went back to camp to sleep.

"Now, Hawkpaw. How far did you get?"

"Hunting pounces. I wasn't pushing forward enough, and going more up."

"Alright then. Let's work on that. So, what you would do is act like you're going to run forward, but push up just a little so you will actually jump. Watch…"

Fang and Megan crouched in the bushes. Monsters zoomed by in front of them, giving off a horrible stench. As soon as the Thunderpath seemed clear of monsters, Fang and Megan crossed together. Luckily, Gale and Lilac had already decided to turn in for the night, and weren't patrolling.

Fang and Megan didn't stop running until they were far into the mountains. They stopped in some bushes and caught their breath.

"I think…that we…are safe…now," Megan said, panting. Fang shook his head.

"We can't be sure. Let's keep going."

The pair ran further into the mountains, and stumbled upon SnowClan's camp. However, the pair still climbed up into the cave, even after they smelled other cats.

Tangleclaw was up late, getting some fresh-kill for Embersong and the kits. She put her head down to grab a squirrel, and heard someone coming up the cliff. Dropping the squirrel and raising her head, Tangleclaw stared at the cliff. Over the top came two cats; one black with blue-green eyes, and the other gray with amber eyes. Tangleclaw ran up to the two cats, and hissed, "What are you two doing here? This is SnowClan camp!"

"Please!" the gray she-cat pleaded. "We just came from Twolegplace. We have nowhere to go!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't chase you out of our territory, and maybe you can stay."

"We were actually looking to find the Clan that lived up here. I heard you had a fight with Crimson and her group. Can we join you? We would love to learn how to defend ourselves like that," the gray she-cat said. "I'm Megan, by the way."

"And I am Fang, Megan's mate."

Tangleclaw nodded to Fang and Megan. "I can take you to Blizzardstar, our leader. She might still be up. I wasn't part of the fight, by the way, but Crimson was going to drag me into the next one." Tangleclaw stopped in her tracks. _I haven't even told Blizzardstar about that!_ Shaking out of her trance, Tangleclaw continued to lead Fang and Megan to Blizzardstar's den.

Upon making it to the leader's den, Tangleclaw poked her head in. "Blizzardstar? Are you up?"

Blizzardstar got up and stretched. "Yes, Tangleclaw, I'm up. Now what is so important that you must wake me at moonhigh?"

"These two cats came from Twolegplace to find us. They wish to become warriors."

Blizzardstar looked down at the cave floor. "All right. We can hold the ceremonies tomorrow, and they can stand vigil together. Tangleclaw, I have the feeling that you were going to get something. Why don't you go finish that, and I shall take care of them." Tangleclaw bowed her head briefly, then left to go get the fresh-kill for Embersong.

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After explaining Clan life briefly to Fang and Megan, Blizzardstar showed them the warrior den and gave them two moss nests to use for the night. Blizzardstar made a mental note to ask the apprentices to get more moss for new nests. Icewish and Tangleclaw were already sharing a moss nest, and one of them normally ended up on the cave floor before the end of the night.

Blizzardstar turned to go back to her den when Tangleclaw jumped in front of her.

"Tangleclaw! What are you still doing up?"

"I have to tell you something…" Tangleclaw meowed. She then hesitated.

"Well, go on then. I need to get to sleep," Blizzardstar meowed, followed by a yawn.

"You know that tortoiseshell she-cat you fought?"

"Yes. What about her? I thought she ran into the forest and died!"

"No, she didn't. Her name is Crimson, and she works closely with Scar. She lost her sight during the fight, but she's alive and back in Twolegplace."

Blizzardstar shook her head. "At least she won't be coming after us again."

"That's exactly the thing. Before I came here, Crimson tried to convince me to join in a second attempt to destroy SnowClan. She will eventually find out that I, Fang, and Megan have left. It might make her angrier than she already is."

"Well, unless you can come up with something, I suggest you go to sleep now. I shall think on this. Why didn't you tell me about this when you first came?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry, Blizzardstar…"

Blizzardstar shook her head. "It's fine. I won't hold it against you."

Blizzardstar and Tangleclaw went their opposite ways. Both of them worried about the situation they were now in, but neither could think of a way to fix it.

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The waves rolled and crashed against the land. The sky was black and rain was pouring down. In the distance, two separate, but connected, lightning strikes flashed. The white light illuminated the sky, turning it white. It stayed white for about ten seconds, then faded back to black. The waves were gone, but the two lightning strikes were imprinted on Mysticmist's eyelids. She woke with a start.

_The fangs! It's the fangs! And a white flood…Oh StarClan, why do you have to make this so difficult? _

**Hello once again! I hope you liked the chapter. I was aiming to get two chapters posted in one day, and I managed to succeed! Send me your cat names so that I can post more about Crimson's murderous scheme! Or not. Maybe. Anyway, don't forget to review and read some more! Luv you guyz! (Not in that way though. I mean the 'I really like you' way. … You know, no matter how I say that, it sounds weird. I DON'T MEAN IT IN THAT WAY, YOU SICKOS!) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey readers! I don't have many announcements right now, so…I guess you can read now! Yay!**

Chapter 9

_The four kits played inside the confines of the small den. There was a blue-gray she-cat with bright blue eyes. Two other toms were brown with black-gray stripes. The last kit was a tortoiseshell she-cat with orange-gold eyes. The two toms wrestled in a corner, and the she-cats ventured outside._

_ Outside, the two she-cats frolicked in the high grass. Giggling, they began to chase each other around the meadow._

_ "Catch me if you can!"_

_ "You bet I could!"_

_ The two kits laughed, and the tortoiseshell kit pounced on top of the blue-gray kit. They wrestled for a bit, and then the tortoiseshell kit ran back inside the den. "I'm safe now! You can't get me!"_

_ "Can too!"_

_ The blue-gray kit ran into a nearby rabbit den to hide from her sister. Peeking her head out, she yelled, "Redkit, come and find me!"_

_ "You bet I will Flowerkit!" her sister mewed in response. A few seconds later, Redkit let out a terrified scream._

Icewish bolted upright. She wasn't exactly sure why she was having this dream, but it reminded her so much of when she was little. But who was Redkit? Who was Flowerkit? The two toms that were wrestling? Who were they?

Icewish shook her head to clear her mind, and got up out of the moss nest. Stretching, Icewish tried to put the dream in the back of her mind. Seeing her friend waking up, she meowed, "Good morning Tangleclaw. Sleep well?"

A groggy Tangleclaw only managed to mumble a response. However, Tangleclaw managed to get up and follow Icewish down to the main cavern. Bluefern was already up, assigning cats to go on border patrol and others to go hunting.

"Tangleclaw, Icewish! Good, you're up. Let's put you both on hunting patrol."

Tangleclaw, Icewish, Sparrowtail, and Hawkpaw were all on hunting patrol. Bluefern, Fuzzypaw, and Fang were going on border patrol. That left Megan, Embersong, Whitepaw, Mysticmist, and Blizzardstar at camp.

As soon as both groups had left, Megan and Embersong went out into the grass to enjoy themselves. Blizzardstar decided to join them, but Mysticmist and Whitepaw had stayed inside.

"They're probably organizing herbs or something," Megan meowed, trying to start a conversation. "It's all Mysticmist ever seems to do when she's not treating someone or showing Whitepaw a new herb."

"You never know, do you?" Embersong asked, shaking her head.

"No, not really," Blizzardstar answered.

"Actually," Blizzardstar began, "I think we can have Fang and Megan's warrior ceremonies today. When the patrols get back, of course. That way you can both have the time to get some rest before your night vigil. What do you say, Megan?"

"I would like that."

"Well, we still have some time to kill, don't we?" Embersong meowed. Blizzardstar and Megan nodded.

"At least the kits have a way to spend it!"

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It took a few hours for the border patrol to get back, and the hunting patrol took a little longer. After everything was settled, Blizzardstar called everyone to Juttingrock.

Fang and Megan both received their warrior names. Fang had become Sandshadow, and Megan's name was Silverheart.

"Sandshadow! Silverheart! Sandshadow! Silverheart!" SnowClan cheered. However, Icewish had stayed further from Juttingrock than others. She did not cheer, as she normally would have. Instead, she sat in silence, seemingly in a trance. When Blizzardstar dismissed the Clan meeting, Icewish did not even move a muscle.

"Icewish? Are you alright?" asked Blizzardstar. "You just haven't been yourself today."

Shaking herself out of her trance, Icewish managed to reply. "No, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

Blizzardstar didn't seem to buy Icewish's response, but nodded and walked away.

Bluefern sat outside, enjoying the warm sun. Fuzzypaw came up next to him.

"Enjoying the day?"

"Yes. It's not like we get many warm days up here, with the altitude."

"Yeah, that's true."

Bluefern stood up and stretched. He told Fuzzypaw that they were going to practice battle moves with Hawkpaw and Sparrowtail. It worked out perfectly, as both Hawkpaw and Fuzzypaw now had a more realistic target. After some time, Bluefern and Sparrowtail had run out of moves they could use, and came up with something for their apprentices to do. They practiced jumping attacks, pinning the other cat on the ground, everything they could think of.

"OK, I think we're done for the day," Bluefern eventually told Fuzzypaw.

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"How long have you been having this dream?"

"Just last night. I'm just not sure why I'm getting dreams of some cats that I've never met before!"

"Icewish, I can't get much out of this right now. What I can tell you is that those cats would most likely impact your future if StarClan is showing it to you. Come visit me again if you keep getting the same dream, and maybe we can try to work it out. Are you sure you don't recognize any of the cats in your dream?"

"Well, the tortoiseshell kit looked familiar, like I've seen her recently. The other kit looked familiar too, the one the tortoiseshell kit was playing with. But other than that, no. But what I'm most curious about is the scream at the end. It was very…" Icewish shivered. "Unnerving."

Mysticmist nodded. "I could understand that." She shook her head. "So many of us have been having these odd dreams lately that I'm thinking StarClan urgently needs to tell us something. I'm just unsure what it is."

Icewish padded out of Mysticmist's den, leaving Mysticmist drowning in her thoughts. _Maybe it's related to that battle we had recently. The dreams did start a few days after it._

Mysticmist got up and began to pace the length of the room. _Think! You have to unravel this before it's too late to do anything! OK, my dream: Ocean, lightning in the shape of fangs, white lightning, water turns white. Icewish's dream: following the life of a family right before something tragic happens. Maybe it's to symbolize something is near? Or getting closer?_ Mysticmist stopped pacing the room. _No! Not her! Why is Icewish's dream following Crimson's life? _

Mnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmn mnmnnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnmnm nM

_ Waves beat against the unseen shore. Forward, back, forward, back. The rain pelted the waves, causing little ripples to appear in the water. The pitch black sky was illuminated for a split second by lightning in the distance. Except it was no longer white lightning; it had become a deep red color. The lightning struck the water, sending lines of red electricity through the water. One of the lines burst, and the ocean turned a deep red. A small ice floe floated into view, pure white. It was small; only a tail-length or so long and a fox-length wide. The red ocean pushes the ice floe forwards and backwards in its hypnotizing rhythm. Suddenly, the ice floe stopped moving with the water. Crimson waves hit the ice floe, harder and harder each time. The small piece of ice repelled the water, and began to freeze the ocean. However, each pure white tendril it sent out was crushed by the next incoming wave._

_ However, the ice floe did not stop. It pushed out more tendrils of white that penetrated the dark red ocean. A large wave crashed down on top of the new tendrils, crushing them once more. Then, surprisingly, the ice expanded in all directions. A wave crashed down on top of the new ice, but the ice repelled the water. The ice had grown at least twice as big. It expanded again, and the water could not stop it this time either. Then the ice sent out more tendrils, but they were once again crushed by waves._

_ The water started to clear around the ice. The remaining crimson colored water pushed against the blue water, forcing it back again. Then the blue water came back, more forcefully this time. It pushed the red water back, and the two colors of water pushed against each other, shoving one side or the other back. The warring ocean and ice eventually disappeared, and the scene changed. _

_It was the scene outside SnowClan's camp. Tall, golden grass, dotted with the occasional flowers. Trees were in the distance. Slowly, the scene began to change again. The leaves on the trees turned orange, red, and yellow, and fell to the ground. The trees were soon bare, and snow began to fall. The snow quickly covered the tall grass, and slowly covered the entrance to SnowClan's camp._

"Mysticmist, my dream changed again."

"What do you mean, Icewish? Changed how?"

"Well, this time it didn't end at the scream. This time, I saw some cats come, and kill the two toms, their mother and father, but yet Flowerkit and Redkit didn't die. Flowerkit was still in the rabbit den she was hiding in, and Redkit went with the strange cats. Then, when Flowerkit came out, she went to the den, and started yowling and everything. It's just…I feel like I can sympathize with her. I mean, my parents died the same way."

"Icewish, I must tell you something. You know that one kit…Redkit?"

"Yes, what about her?"

"Last night, I found out that it might be Crimson."

Icewish's lower jaw dropped in shock. "What? Why am I dreaming about her?"

Mysticmist shook her head. "I can't be completely sure yet. I just know that Redkit becomes Crimson, and those cats must have worked for Scar. As for Flowerkit…"

Mysticmist stopped. It had hit her: Flowerkit was Icewish as a kit! Crimson and Icewish are sisters! "Icewish! Flowerkit is _you!_ Crimson and you are sisters! My StarClan, Icewish! That is why you are dreaming of this! It's your past! When your parents were killed and you were left alone!" Mysticmist had begun to walk back and forth with excitement. "I think I just figured out my dream as well!"

Icewish still sat opposite Mysticmist. She stared at the overexcited medicine cat, and then stood. "I, uh, have to leave now. I just realized that I have to go do…something." Icewish quickly walked out of the den.

After she had calmed down, Mysticmist went to go visit Blizzardstar. "Blizzardstar! I have something to tell you!"

"What is it? You seem quite happy about it, whatever it is."

"Well, you see, Icewish has been having these strange dreams lately. About the life of this one family of cats. It seems to focus on these two kits; Redkit and Flowerkit. Now, Redkit is a tortoiseshell she-cat. Ring a bell?"

"No! Crimson?"

Mysticmist smiled briefly. "Yes, Crimson. The other kit, Flowerkit, turns out to be Icewish as a kit. I found it out as soon as Icewish told me that cats killed the rest of the cats, but Flowerkit hid in a rabbit den. Redkit went with the strange cats, which I'm thinking worked for Scar. That might be why she's caught up in this. Blizzardstar, I'm getting the distinct feeling that Icewish and Crimson are actually sisters."

Blizzardstar shook her head in disbelief. "I never thought that they could even be related! They seem so different…"

Mysticmist agreed with Blizzardstar. "Yes, I know. It must be that they were brought up so differently. Anyway, I have been having some dreams of my own."

"Oh. This could be an interesting conversation. Alright, continue."

"Well, it starts out in the ocean. It's raining, and some red lightning strikes the water. There's these red…veins, almost, that shoot through the water. One of those veins ruptures, and the water turns red. There's this little ice floe that pops up, and the water pushed it for a bit. Then, it stops being pushed, and tries to freeze the water. Whenever it sends out little tendrils of ice, a wave crushes the tendrils. But when it expanded as a whole, the water couldn't break it. Then some water is purified in a sense, and turns blue. Then the blue water and red water fight a bit. Then it ended," Mysticmist finished, deciding not to tell Blizzardstar about the second part of her mysterious dream.

"That's…"

"Confusing?"

"Yes. Have you figured out its meaning yet?"

"No, not fully."

"When you do figure it out, come back and tell me. This sounds important, and maybe connected to Icewish's dream. But thank you, Mysticmist, for telling me this."

Mysticmist bowed her head, then turned to leave Blizzardstar's den. She padded out into the main cavern, now named Centerplace, and looked at the fresh-kill pile. It was now a large pile, consisting of various birds, squirrels, rabbits and hares, and even a couple voles. She selected a bright yellow bird from the pile, and sat down to eat. Silverheart came up beside her. "Hello, Mysticmist," she meowed.

"Oh, hello Silverheart. How is your day so far?"

"It's alright. If I may tell you something, I think I'm having kits."

Mysticmist stared for a moment. She then meowed a hearty congratulation. "That's great!"

Silverheart looked at her paws.

"What's wrong? This is great!"

"I know…I just don't think I'm ready."

"You will be. Trust me."

Silverheart smiled at her. "Thanks. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all!"

Ijijijijijijijijijijijjijiji jijijijijijijijijijijijijiji jijijijijijijijijijijijijiji jijijijijijijijijijijijijiji jijijijijijijijijijijijijiji jijijijijI

"Sandshadow! I need to tell you something!"

"What? What is it?"

Sandshadow, Bluefern, and Fuzzypaw had just came back from patrol. Silverheart just couldn't wait anymore, and had run up to Sandshadow to tell him she was expecting kits.

"I…I think I'm having kits," she shyly told Sandshadow.

Sandshadow smiled. "Really! That's great!" he purred.

Silverheart moved into the nursery later that day. She and Embersong became close friends, and Silverheart got along with Embersong's kits. All Silverheart would ever talk about was her kits.

"Don't get too excited yet," Embersong warned her. "You still have two moons before they come"

"I know, it's just…I'm so excited!"

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The faint outline of the doorway was distinguishable only by its light gray color. The far wall remained black, and a few closer things were a dark gray. Crimson moved closer to the far wall, turning away from the doorway. She focused on a dark lamp. Now the lamp, instead of being dark gray, turned a lighter shade of gray. Crimson grinned. She looked around the dark room, practicing her newfound ability. She could see certain things, such as close by objects, or things that would normally have been a very bright color. Other, darker objects simply remained a deep black, unchanging in color.

Crimson had just now noticed the change, when she was about to walk into the table. It had instantly changed its color, from black to light gray. Crimson walked around her Twoleg's nest, trying out her new kind of vision on different objects. It annoyed her that she could only make out faint outlines, but it was progress.

It meant she could fully recover her vision.

**Dun dun dun! Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't write about Crimson for a while, but I just had to put in this awesome part! Anywho, onto business. I started writing about Crimson again because I got some names from ImagineClan, and with special thanks to Puzzlefreak14. Thanks for the support you guys! GraymistofLeafClan helped me a little bit with this, so I gotta thank Graymist too. The whole "Crimson and Icewish are sisters" was my idea, as well as the weird dreams. And yes, I shall leave you hanging on what dream Bluefern had been having. And no, I will most definitely not tell you how Crimson got her vision back. That's what makes it interesting. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, sorry about this taking forever! I'll explain why at the end, but anyway, here's the long (hopefully) awaited chapter 10!**

Chapter 10

Three pairs of eyes peered out from behind a large bush. The three cats all sat in silent wait, making no noise except for the occasional sounds of them shifting positions. Slowly, Sapphirespirit crept out of the bush, Hawkpaw and Sparrowtail behind her. They crept around the thick trunk of a fallen tree, and stopped. Sparrowtail sniffed the air to pick up the scent again, and they soon set off again.

In a large, open meadow, Sparrowtail, Hawkpaw, and Sapphirespirit found their prey again. It was a group of medium-sized rodents, about five or six of them. The hunters crawled towards the rodents, and Sapphirespirit pounced first. She caught two rodents under her outstretched claws. Hawkpaw and Sparrowtail jumped soon after, and caught a total of three rodents. They picked up the somewhat large brown-furred rodents, and headed back to camp. The remaining few rodents scurried away, eventually disappearing from sight.

The fur from the two brown rodents tickled Sapphirespirit's nose, causing her to sneeze uncontrollably. Sparrowtail kept giving her a concerned look, but Sapphirespirit kept shaking her head to tell him that she was alright.

They came to the small, open meadow in front of SnowClan's camp. The border patrol wasn't back yet, so the clearing was roughly empty. Sapphirespirit, Sparrowtail, and Hawkpaw made their way to the entrance, and climbed up.

They dropped their fresh-kill in the fresh-kill pile and padded into the dimly lit camp. A few lone rays of sun from outside shone into the large main cavern, which was also faintly illuminated by the faint blue light coming from the cave ceiling.

"I'm going to go get a drink, I'll be right back," Sapphirespirit told her companions, then left for the warrior's den. She climbed up the second cliff section, and trotted into the warrior's den. Sapphirespirit immediately went to the back of the cave, and lapped up the water coming from a crevice in the wall and pooling in a small puddle on the cave floor. Sapphirespirit drank heavily; she was exhausted after hunting in the early morning.

SnowClan's camp was eerily silent, as most of the cats were out on border patrol. Sapphirespirit could faintly hear Silverheart, Embersong, and the kits in the nursery near-by. She turned around to see Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw. Startled, she slammed into the cave wall with a resonating _thump_.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Sparrowtail meowed, rushing towards Sapphirespirit. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Sapphirespirit responded. Inwardly, she was a bit curious why Sparrowtail had seemed so eager to be close to her recently, and had begun to suspect that he had feelings for her.

"Oh, good. I was starting to think that you were really hurt or something, and-"

"Sparrowtail, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, it wasn't that hard," Sapphirespirit mumbled, and she walked out of the cave. She was followed by Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw, who were presumably going out to train.

Sapphirespirit went to the fresh-kill pile to bring some food to Silverheart, Embersong, and the kits. Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw did actually go out to train, and Sapphirespirit had briefly watched Sparrowtail trying to teach Hawkpaw a back kick, which Hawkpaw was having trouble with. Once Hawkpaw fell for the third time, Sapphirespirit turned away and ran to the nursery.

Inside, Silverheart and Embersong were conversing, though Embersong looked a bit tired. Wolfkit and Tigerkit wrestled in a far corner, and Icekit was napping beside Embersong. Sapphirespirit would have smiled if her mouth wasn't full of rabbits and some small squirrels. She silently padded up to Embersong and Silverheart, and dropped the fresh-kill in front of them.

"Hello Embersong and Silverheart," she meowed, starting a conversation.

"Oh, hello Sapphirespirit! I didn't expect to see you," Embersong meowed. "How have you been?"

"Good, I guess. I'm exhausted after hunting. What about you, Embersong?"

Embersong sighed. "Tired, as usual. I can't believe they are almost six moons!"

Silverheart joined in the conversation. "I know! I think they will make amazing apprentices and warriors."

Embersong shook her head. "Oh, at least Icekit will be. Wolfkit and Tigerkit are so eager to explore that I wouldn't be surprised if they walked off a cliff to see what's on the bottom."

Upon hearing her name, Icekit stirred.

Sapphirespirit joined in again. "Isn't it only a few days now?" she asked Embersong.

"Yes, only three days until I can finally have time to myself!"

At this, all the she-cats smiled a bit.

"Well, I should be going, the border patrol should be back soon," Sapphirespirit meowed to the queens, and then turned to leave.

Bluefern, Fuzzypaw, Tangleclaw, Sandshadow, and Icewish came into the clearing in front of SnowClan's camp. Icewish, Sandshadow, and Tangleclaw eagerly ran for the camp, while Bluefern and Fuzzypaw stayed behind.

"Bluefern! Fuzzypaw!" Sparrowtail yelled from the ring of bushes they used to train apprentices. "Would you like to train with us today?"

Fuzzypaw looked eagerly at Bluefern. Fuzzypaw and Hawkpaw had instantly become close friends, and the two of them enjoyed training together.

Bluefern yelled back, "Sure! Right after we get something to eat!"

Sparrowtail turned and headed back into the ring of bushes called Bushring. Fuzzypaw ran for camp, and Bluefern ran to catch up with him.

Fuzzypaw gulped down his Goldfinch, and Bluefern hurriedly finished off a plump gray rabbit. The mentor and apprentice ran to Bushring, Fuzzypaw eager to get started.

When they arrived at Bushring, Hawkpaw and Sparrowtail were working on a complicated move where Hawkpaw would turn and slide under Sparrowtail, rake his belly, and then come out the other side on all fours. Bluefern taught the move to Fuzzypaw, and Hawkpaw and Fuzzypaw started working on it as a pair. Sparrowtail turned to Bluefern.

"You look out of breath. Was border patrol that difficult today?" he meowed.

"No. But one thing's for sure: Fuzzypaw is quite eager to learn."

Sparrowtail smiled, understanding what Bluefern meant. He turned back to look at Hawkpaw and Fuzzypaw. Hawkpaw swiftly turned on his side, slid under Fuzzypaw, raked his belly with sheathed claws and came out the other side. Hawkpaw lost his balance a bit when getting up, but otherwise did well.

Switching positions, Fuzzypaw got ready to perform the move on Hawkpaw. Fuzzypaw turned on his side and slid under Hawkpaw, and raked his belly. Fuzzypaw lost momentum about halfway through though, and wasn't able to get on the other side. Bluefern told him to push himself harder than he thought he would need to.

"But what if I end up really far away?" Fuzzypaw asked.

"It's better to be far away than stuck under your opponent," Bluefern told him, which was something he constantly needed to remind Fuzzypaw of.

Nodding, Fuzzypaw tried again, and this time made it to the other side of Hawkpaw. He had no trouble with his balance, as he and Bluefern had worked on his balance for a while when they were working on hunting pounces.

Hawkpaw and Fuzzypaw continued their training until Bluefern and Sparrowtail were satisfied.

"Now let's work on some defense rather than offence," Sparrowtail suggested, to the agreement of Bluefern. Sparrowtail and Bluefern taught their apprentices a simple defensive move where they would duck, twist around onto their back, then spring up on their paws.

"Let's try it now," Bluefern meowed, attacking Fuzzypaw with his front paw. Fuzzypaw moved to the side to avoid the downward blow, rolled onto his back, and jumped up to his paws. Hawkpaw tried it next, Sparrowtail slashing at him sideways. Hawkpaw ducked and rolled over onto his paws.

Mysticmist yawned and stretched.

"I'm getting tired after being out all day. I should really get out more," Mysticmist meowed, still yawning.

"I think it would be better for you to get out more often! You pretty much stay in here all day, organizing herbs and whatnot," Whitepaw responded, cleaning her feet.

Mysticmist sighed and walked toward her moss nest that was in the far side of the medicine cat den. She collapsed into it, curling into a ball.

"It's not just that, Whitepaw. It's all these confusing dreams that StarClan is sending me, Icewish, and I'm thinking even Bluefern! I still don't see how they are all connected. I know now that Icewish and," Mysticmist shuddered. "Crimson are sisters. Then I have the dream about the ice floating in the crimson waters, neither one winning more than the other. Bluefern refuses to tell me about his dream, but I'm thinking that it might help me figure all of this out." Then Mysticmist stopped and straightened up a bit.

"What is it, Mysticmist? Did you figure something out?" Whitepaw asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"Yes, I think I did."

A tired Bluefern padded into camp. Fuzzypaw, Hawkpaw, and Sparrowtail came in behind him, all tired after training so long.

"I'm going to take a nap, it's been a long day for me," Bluefern meowed, making his way to the warrior's den. Bluefern climbed up the cliff leading to most of the dens, and walked into the warrior's den. He took a quick drink from the pool in the back, then settled down into his moss nest. He closed his eyes, and was instantly taken to the world of his dream.

Bdbdbdbdbdbbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbddbdbdbdbdbdbb dbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbd

_A slight wind blew the new leaves of greenleaf. A group of cats made their way to SnowClan's camp, but they were too far away to see who they were. The three cats climbed up the cliff and into the camp, and the view switched to a view from behind the cats. A blue-gray she-cat had the lead, and was followed by an apprentice-aged golden she-cat and a light gray she-cat. The group continued on, climbing up to the area where the warrior and apprentice dens were. They turned to the right, where there was only a solid stone wall._

_ The golden she-cat moved toward the wall, but was interrupted by a kit._

Icekit! Bluefern realized. The dream continued on.

_Icekit tripped the golden she-cat by running under her paws. Icekit and the golden she-cat fell into the wall, where there was suddenly a black void. They fell into the void, which quickly swallowed them up in the darkness. The two remaining she-cats seemed to yell something down after the golden she-cat and Icekit, but nothing came out. The light gray she-cat lost her footing and tumbled into the darkness. The remaining blue-gray she-cat screamed down after her fallen companions._

_ A tortoiseshell cat walked up behind the remaining she-cat. The blue-gray cat turned to face the tortoiseshell cat, and flattened her ears. The tortoiseshell cat gave a hint of a grin, then pushed the remaining she-cat into the darkness. The tortoiseshell seemed to say something into the darkness, but nothing was said._

_ Then, in an almost whisper, the tortoiseshell cat said, "sister," then proceeded to disappear into the shadows of the camp. _

Bluefern woke with a start.

"I think this nap is over," he grumbled to himself. "Maybe I should tell Mysticmist."

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The sun set on the horizon, and the last hunting patrol came into camp. The clouds turned a deep purple, and the sky was painted orange and a deep shade of pink, with a little blue of the normal sky shining through.

"You know," Blizzardstar mumbled to Icewish, "Sometimes I think it's a shame we live in the mountains. The sunset looked so beautiful when it set behind them."

Icewish tried to smile through her mouthful of bluebird. "Yes, it was. Except I never really stopped to appreciate it."

Dropping the evening's catch in the fresh-kill pile, the hunting patrol dispersed. Icewish and Blizzardstar went off to one side to talk.

"You ever wonder what Crimson's plotting right about now?" Icewish asked.

"Sometimes. I'd rather not think about it too much, but just prepare for the worst. Hopefully we'll be better prepared than last time."

"Oh, Ok. Well, to change the subject, have you ever realized that we don't have a cave for the elders?"

Blizzardstar stopped swishing her tail, and looked down. "I never thought about that. I get the feeling that this was where we were supposed to have a camp though." Blizzardstar looked up and shook her head. "It might be something like what happened with Juttingrock. I needed an area to address the Clan, and StarClan shifted the rocks so that I could have somewhere. Maybe StarClan will help us with finding a new cave too."

Mysticmist sat on the ledge overlooking the fields in front of SnowClan. Silverpelt was already high in the sky, and the stars reflected in Mysticmist's eyes. Her concentration was only broken when Whitepaw came up and sat down beside her.

"You know, you've been sitting there for a while now. I can tell something is on your mind," Whitepaw mewed. When she got no response from Mysticmist, Whitepaw continued. "And, you never did tell me what you found out about all the dreams."

"It's hard to explain, since you've never seen, or heard about, any of the dreams."

"Well, I'm fine with that. Give me a basic idea. Maybe I can help you put all of this together."

"Ok. Well, I had this dream about an ice floe floating in crimson red water."

"Wait. You mean that Crimson? And either Icekit or Icewish is involved?"

"Basically, yes. I believe that it's Icewish, because she had a dream about Crimson too. Icewish had a dream about when her family was killed, but up until now, she believed that she was the only survivor. It turns out though, that she and Crimson are sisters. Both Crimson and Icewish survived, but Crimson left to live in Twolegplace, and Icewish lived on her own for a while."

"So, the water is Crimson, because of the color, and the ice floe is Icewish?"

Mysticmist nodded her head. "Sometimes the ice is able to expand, but sometimes the water destroys the ice. I think that my dream is about the struggle between them. Icewish's was just reminding her that she and Crimson are sisters. However, I'm fairly certain that Bluefern has been having dreams too."

"StarClan must be really trying to tell us something, and most of this is about Icewish and Crimson. Maybe Bluefern's has to do with it too."

"Possibly, but I can't find out until Bluefern decides to tell me about his dream. I think it might be the key to solving this, unless more cats start having dreams."

Whitepaw nodded. "I'll tell you if I have any odd dreams, and I can ask around. It just sounds like something big is going to happen, and Icewish and Crimson are going to be a big part of it."

Whitepaw got up and headed inside.

Mysticmist sat outside, a breeze ruffling her fur.

_ StarClan, is that what you're trying to tell me? Are Crimson and Icewish part of something bigger than I think? But when, when will it happen?_

Mysticmist got up, and stare out into the night for a while. A sudden breeze came by, catching her by surprise. The wind caused Mysticmist to avert her eyes, and she caught a glimpse of a tree. A small green leaf clung onto the branches of the bare tree. This confused Mysticmist. _Newleaf doesn't come for at least another moon or so,_ she thought.

Mysticmist gasped, and ran inside the cave. Behind her, the leaf was blown off of the tree by a large gust of wind.

The wind carried the leaf far into Twolegplace. Eventually, the wind let go of the leaf, and it dropped on the porch of a Twoleg nest.

Crimson stopped in front of the leaf, hardly any of her showing in the dark of the night. With her blurry new form of vision, she saw the faint gray form of the leaf. She put her bloody paw down on top of it, crunching the brittle green leaf. She smiled, her fangs gleaming pure white in the darkness, and she turned away from the cooling body that lay in a pool of blood in the yard. The color of her fangs would have matched the previous color of the brown and white tom's coat, which was now stained with deep red blood.

_And that takes care of loose ends,_ Crimson thought, still smiling. She turned to look at the limp form of Karl, then went back inside to escape the cold wind.

Little did she know, there was a small golden she-cat that had seen the whole thing. Nella stared in horror at the blood pool in the yard, and ran. Her feet instinctively turned toward the safety of the mountains, of the wild.

Yarrow was on the other side of the yard. _I helped her do this…and I won't do it again._ Her sleek, light gray pelt slipped away. She trotted toward the Thunderpath, ready to cross the boundary and risk her life for others.

**You like it? Sorry it took me so long, I hit major writer's block with this chapter. I'll try to get better at updating, but there comes the point when I can sit in front my computer for hours, no idea what to put on the page next. Anywho, who's up for decoding the trio of dreams? I am! Of course I am, I know exactly what they mean! I even gave you two little hints…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! I finally got around to writing this chapter, so I hope you like it!**

**Also, be sure to check out LeafClan, the forum. The people there are really nice, and can be super helpful when you need some help writing FanFics. We need more members, and what's the best way to do that? Advertising! You can still play games and chat, but all forums do that. I think. Anyway, here's chapter 11 now, and I won't waste more of your time.**

Chapter 11

Yarrow trotted through the tall grass, her eyes finding nothing but more dense yellow grass. Stopping to catch her breath, Yarrow sat down in a small clearing amidst the dry grass. Panting, she rested before moving on, certain that she was far enough from Twolegplace to be safe. Sniffing the air, Yarrow smelled a mouse and moved toward it.

Crouching down, Yarrow moved silently and slowly toward her prey. She pounced, and landed, claws unsheathed, onto the mouse. Biting it quickly on the neck, Yarrow killed the mouse and gobbled it down.

Unsure where to go next, Yarrow simply wandered off into the forest, going further up the mountain. Soon the trees thinned, and Yarrow came out into an open meadow. A cool breeze ruffled Yarrow's light gray fur. Seeing a small cliff jutting out of the mountain, Yarrow walked toward the cliff to see if she could find somewhere safe to stay. Grabbing the cliff with her claws, Yarrow made her way up the cliff face.

Yarrow was greeted with a hiss from an orange tom right above her.

"What do you want? This is SnowClan territory!" The tom hissed.

Afraid of the tom and unsure what to say next, Yarrow simply stared for a moment at the broad-shouldered tom.

"Well? What is your business here?"

"Well, uh…" Yarrow began. "I came from Twolegplace after I decided that I'd had enough."

The orange tom seemed ready to push her off of the cliff, but an albino she-cat came up behind him.

"Bluefern, it's alright. Let her in, it's getting cold out there. I want to hear her story first anyway," the she-cat meowed. The orange tom, _Bluefern,_ Yarrow corrected herself, moved away to let her inside the cave.

The cave system was dimly lit by large cracks in the ceiling, and a large rock jutted out from the right side of the huge main cavern. Switching her gaze back to Bluefern and the albino she-cat, Yarrow continued to follow the two cats. From the shadows of the various caves, other cats materialized. A bit unnerved by these cats, Yarrow attempted to keep up with the two cats in front of her.

Bluefern and the she-cat jumped up another cliff-like incline, and Yarrow followed them. After another steep incline, the three cats came into a medium-sized cave.

Turning around, the she-cat meowed, "Hello. I'm Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan. These caves are our home, and I'm curious why you came here." Then Blizzardstar's friendly demeanor changed. Almost hissing, she continued. "But, if you can't give at least one solid reason, we're chasing you out far enough away for you to be one of the original four Clan's trouble."

_Four? How many of these Clans are there?_ Yarrow asked herself.

"Well," she mewed, "I came because Twolegplace is just getting worse and worse. I didn't actually know you all lived up here, I just knew that quite a few cats had escaped with some Clan cats. But, what I did know is that if I had stayed much longer, I probably would have died at either the claws of Scar or Crimson."

Blizzardstar absorbed this new information.

"Is there anything new about Crimson? She's given us some trouble, and I have reason to believe that she will cause more in the future," Blizzardstar asked, meaning to just see if Yarrow actually saw or knew Crimson and Scar, but putting some personal questions in too.

"Crimson works closely with Scar now. She's killed a lot of cats, too. She also is trying to convince or force other cats into some group she's forming. I don't know why though," Yarrow responded.

"But we blinded Crimson! Did she get her vision back somehow?"

"I don't know, but she seems to at least know roughly where she is."

Satisfied, Blizzardstar shooed Bluefern out of the room. When Blizzardstar turned her head to ask her deputy to leave, Yarrow noticed red marks on one side of Blizzardstar's neck.

"What happened to your neck?" Yarrow meowed questioningly.

Now annoyed that a cat had noticed her old injury, that she was very sensitive about still, Blizzardstar hissed, "It's none of your business."

Not wanting to anger Blizzardstar further after seeing that she could at least fend for herself, Yarrow dropped the topic. If Yarrow kept the conversation away from Blizzardstar's injury or the confrontation SnowClan had with Crimson, Blizzardstar was normally in a good mood. She even offered Yarrow a place in the Clan.

"You think about it. You can stay here tonight, it's getting pretty cold outside," Blizzardstar told her. "If you decide to stay, you tell me. Otherwise, you're gone by at least sunhigh tomorrow."

Almost enjoying the strict guidelines SnowClan seemed to have, Yarrow was leaning toward staying. There was no "maybe", just "yes" and "no". Also, the rules seemed to be enforced, as all the cats stayed in line. Also, Yarrow liked Blizzardstar and the idea of finally having a leader who cared about her, rather than just having power over a group of cats.

Yarrow decided to settle down a bit in the large main cave that Blizzardstar had called Centerplace. Another albino she-cat walked up to her, but looked a bit on the young side, around eight moons maybe.

"Hi," the she-cat meowed, sitting down next to Yarrow. "I'm Whitepaw, and I'm learning how to be a medicine cat." When Whitepaw received a blank look from Yarrow, she continued. "A medicine cat heals the injured cats, and interprets weird dreams from StarClan and all that. I've always thought it was neat, so I asked Mysticmist if I could learn from her. She's a great mentor."

Yarrow had heard about cats who knew all the different herbs and what they did and could be used for. What she didn't think was that a young cat like Whitepaw could already know all the kinds of herbs and how they could be used. But what was StarClan?

"Who is StarClan? Are they one of the Clans Blizzardstar was talking about?" Yarrow asked.

Shaking her head and giggling, Whitepaw meowed, "No, they are our ancestors. They help guide us, give our leaders their nine lives so they can lead our Clan for many moons to come, and give leaders important knowledge and things like that so they don't make stupid decisions. They can also send us dreams, omens, and prophecies so we can know what to do. A lot of cats have been having dreams about Crimson lately, and Mysticmist has been worried sick about it. I guess it's a good thing she knows what to do in case she does get sick."

Yarrow, fascinated by the current topic, asked another question. "So, if StarClan tells you all these things, why don't you know when Crimson will come?"

Whitepaw gave Yarrow a confused look, then responded. "I don't really know all of that yet; Mysticmist hasn't finished teaching me that yet. But I know that it's really complicated when there are many different dreams about one topic. Mysticmist has had dreams about Crimson, Icewish has, and I think Bluefern but he won't tell anyone if he's been having dreams or not. Mysticmist is pretty sure that Bluefern's dream will help her figure out what the real meanings about all these dreams are, but when she asks him he never says anything!"

Dropping the now confusing topic about StarClan and dreams, Yarrow started up a different conversation. "So, I'm thinking of becoming part of the Clan. What's it like, though? So I know what to expect."

"Well, there are some rules you need to follow. For example, you need to let kits and elders eat first, and you can't train to be an apprentice until you are six moons old, but I don't think that one applies to you. You have to stay loyal to us; no "oh, but I'm friends with this cat from whatever-Clan". You can't go into another Clan's territory, but we normally don't have to worry about that. LeafClan is pretty far from us. You have to stay up all night after you become a warrior. But I think Blizzardstar will explain everything to you. However, if for some reason you want to go back to Twolegplace and be a kittypet again, you need to leave before you become a warrior, because it's against the code."

Nodding, Yarrow stopped the conversation. Whitepaw went back into the medicine cat den to join Mysticmist. Getting up, Yarrow also left Centerplace.

Sniffing the air, Crimson moved toward the continually moving prey. She crouched even though she was sure her prey would not be able to escape her. The little hamster was in the little pink box the Twoleg had put him in, completely helpless. The hamster attempted to escape through a hole in the top of the pink, clear box, but to no avail. Crimson crept closer, licking her lips in anticipation.

The hamster squealed in fear as Crimson grabbed the pink box in her front paws. Shifting her body over next to the opening in the box, Crimson knocked over the box.

Using her half-vision to find the escaping hamster, Crimson slammed her paw down on the squealing hamster. Digging her claws in, Crimson killed the small hamster. Picking up her breakfast, Crimson ran before the Twoleg and the barking dog could see her escape with their beloved hamster.

Running to the alley she had begun to call home, Crimson began to eat her quick breakfast. It was better than the tasteless brown pellets the Twolegs gave her, at least. A freezing wind blew across Crimson's back, signaling that it would snow soon.

It was midway through leaf-bare, and Crimson didn't think a cat in the world would miss this especially cold leaf-bare. Huddling into a warm bundle of papers, Crimson swallowed the last bit of hamster. Curling into a ball, she attempted to keep the warmth of her body closer to her for longer.

Crimson thought of returning to her warm Twoleg nest, but decided otherwise. Trying to get comfortable in the very uncomfortable confines of the alley and the limited warmth of the paper, Crimson curled up tighter. Realizing that this wouldn't really help, Crimson get up and stretched, her bones showing through her pelt.

After Crimson had decided to leave her somewhat soft kittypet life, she had been having trouble gaining, and keeping, her weight. Crimson had become exceptionally skinny; almost to the point where she sometimes looked like a walking skeleton. Although Crimson didn't really mind, she had been making an effort to get her previous, healthy weight back.

Crimson's ears picked up the sound of the Twoleg screaming, and decided that she had overstayed her welcome.

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Small white snowflakes fell on the ground, clumping together in the process. The snow had only just started falling, but had already begun to stick to the ground. Slowly, the trees went from a dull brown of bark to the piercing white color of snow. Icicles hung from the entrance to SnowClan's camp, looking almost like sharp, clear fangs.

Mysticmist hung near the entrance, watching the scene before her gradually turn white. Blizzardstar came up behind her, startling the medicine cat.

"Oh! Hello Blizzardstar. I was just thinking about things," she meowed.

"Well, what are you thinking about then?"

Mysticmist sighed, and Blizzardstar sat down next to her.

"I know you have an answer, whether it's a lie or not."

"Yes, I do actually. It's about these dreams. I know what mine and Icewish's mean, but I have the feeling that Bluefern's dream, if he has been having dreams, is going to help me sort this entire thing out. But if he doesn't say anything soon, I might not be able to help."

"I can go ask him, if you'd like."

"You can, I suppose. I asked Whitepaw to ask him before, but he still won't say anything."

"I can still ask. I'll go do that right now!"

Blizzardstar got up and ran to Bluefern, who was by the fresh-kill pile.

"Bluefern!" Blizzardstar yelled.

Bluefern turned to face Blizzardstar, and meowed back. "What? What is it?"

"I need to talk to you," Blizzardstar panted. "Have you been having weird dreams lately?"

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two cats. Bluefern shuffled his feet, clearly uneasy.

"Yes. I have been having…odd dreams lately. Why?"

"Mysticmist wanted to know. She thinks that it might be an important part of the trio of dreams. She also thinks that it might be the missing piece that she needs to have in order to figure out what all of these dreams mean."

Nodding, Bluefern meowed, "I'll go tell her what it was."

Bluefern trotted over to Mysticmist. He didn't sit down, but came up beside her.

"I have been having dreams," he said. "You were right."

Sitting down, he told Mysticmist about his dream.

"There were these three cats; I know that Icewish was one of them. The other cat looks kind of like Yarrow, but I don't know for sure."

Smiling, Mysticmist butted in. "Looks like you're doing part of my job for me!"

Bluefern smiled a bit too, and then continued. "But there was also this other cat that was a golden color, and we don't have any cats that are that color. But anyway, the dream followed those three cats down the path by the warrior den. The golden she-cat walked toward that wall to the right, and Icekit tripped her."

Mysticmist gave Bluefern a confused look, but told him to continue.

"So, anyway, Icekit tripped the one she-cat, and she fell. One part of the rock had turned into a black…void. Icekit and the she-cat fell into it, and Icewish and the other she-cat that looks like Yarrow…"

"Just say it's Yarrow to make it easier on me."

"OK. So, Icewish and Yarrow were yelling down after the golden she-cat and Icekit. The weird thing was though, no sound came out. Then Yarrow lost her footing or something, and fell into the void too. Icewish yelled down after her, and, again, no sound came out."

Bluefern paused to catch his breath, as he was saying all of this rather quickly, and then continued. "Then a tortoiseshell cat came up behind Icewish."

Mysticmist gasped. "I think that's Crimson!"

Bluefern nodded to show his agreement. "I think so too," he meowed. "Because then the tortoiseshell grinned a little bit after Icewish turned to face her. Icewish also had her ears flattened, so that also makes me think it's Crimson. Crimson then pushed Icewish down after Icekit, Yarrow, and the other she-cat. Crimson said something after she pushed Icewish, but all I could make out was sister. At that point, I normally wake up, so I don't know if there's anything else to it."

Mysticmist was silent for a few moments, trying to piece together what she had just heard. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out and she eventually closed it.

Getting up, Mysticmist whispered just loud enough for Bluefern to hear, "I need to be alone for a little bit."

Mysticmist turned around, and disappeared into the medicine cat den. Whitepaw was about to come in after her, but saw that Mysticmist wanted to be alone, and left.

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"What?" Blizzardstar meowed, shocked by what she had just heard.

"Well, it's what Bluefern told me. I put it together, and thought I should tell you."

Blizzardstar shook her head in disbelief. "I just never thought she would dare come again, much less be able to see." Blizzardstar turned her back to Mysticmist. "Let's just be on the lookout for a golden she-cat at apprentice age. At least then we'll know that it's about to happen."

**Oh, don't you just love cliffhangers? I know I do! Well, I just didn't want to tell you all everything in this chapter, so I made it more interesting by putting it in the next chapter! Hopefully, it will encourage all my readers to wait until I update and post the next chapter, at least. Remember, if you like it, tell others and don't forget to review! And yes, I do know that Sapphirespirit, Mysticmist, and Icewish are weird names. I just liked Icewish, because it's neat. Mysticmist and Sapphirespirit were names my classmates requested, so I'm using them because they're my close friends. So you don't need to tell me, and plus, someone already did! (I'm not actually too mad about that…)**

**Anywho, I would like some reviews on how I've been doing so far. I like advice like that, and it's a lot better than "Yay! I like it!" and not telling me why. If you tell me why, it makes my writing better and more enjoyable for everyone! It's a win-win! **

**I'm sorry about my odd updating schedule, I'm working on that. I'm just having trouble finding time to work on my FanFic, since school's almost over and my schedule is getting more hectic by the day. I will try to do better, but I can't make promises.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Mysticmist tried to keep her mind off of what she had just discovered. Blizzardstar's unease bothered her, and Mysticmist had started to wonder why Blizzardstar was so worried about what she had told her. After all, now that she knew, she could better prepare for it. Shaking her head, Mysticmist tried to focus on the task at hand; training Whitepaw.

Whitepaw and Mysticmist were out in the fields around SnowClan camp, learning different herbs and what they could be used for. Mysticmist knew that Whitepaw still had a lot to learn, but was doing extremely well for her young age. Mysticmist had spent quite a lot of the morning talking to Whitepaw about Bluefern's dream, and how it fit in with her and Icewish's dreams. Mysticmist had also told Whitepaw her interpretation, saying it was showing her how she could think of dreams, but Whitepaw believed that it was more for conversation's sake.

Bluefern and Fuzzypaw were in Bushring, learning a few defensive moves. Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw were out on border patrol with Tangleclaw and Sapphirespirit, and Blizzardstar, Icewish, and Sandshadow had gone out hunting early that morning and had not yet returned.

The bright sun shone in Whitepaw's eyes, blinding her for a bit. The snow that had fallen the previous day had already melted for the most part, leaving only a few patches of white here and there. The muddy ground had stained Whitepaw's paws, and she stopped to clean them, the taste of dirt filling her mouth.

Her paws now clean, Whitepaw ran after Mysticmist, who was now further into the field. When Whitepaw caught up to her, Mysticmist continued Whitepaw's training; now showing her some juniper berries.

"The berries can counter poison," Mysticmist meowed. "You can also use the leaves ease coughs. Can you grab some? I'm running a bit low since Sandshadow had that bad cough a quarter-moon ago."

Whitepaw picked up some berries, careful not to crush any under her sharp teeth. Wanting to drop off the berries before continuing on, Whitepaw turned and ran back to camp.

Whitepaw dropped the berries off in the cave, then ran back out, eager to continue training. Whitepaw dashed through Centerplace, and out into the golden rays of the beautiful day outside.

Whitepaw caught up with Mysticmist, who had not moved from her spot, waiting for Whitepaw to return. Mysticmist smiled as Whitepaw came up beside her, and they continued on their way.

Trying to keep a good mood between herself and Whitepaw, Mysticmist meowed to Whitepaw, "Isn't today the day that Icekit, Wolfkit, and Tigerkit become apprentices?"

Realizing that Mysticmist was right, Whitepaw mewed, "Yes, it is isn't it? But we have so few warriors that I'm wondering who they'll be apprenticed to."

"I don't know. I think Tangleclaw would be perfect for Wolfkit. They are so similar that they will probably understand each other better."

Making a game out of the pairings between cats, Mysticmist continued. "Ooh! What about Sandshadow and Tigerkit? That would be interesting."

Whitepaw and Mysticmist cracked up, since Tigerkit would be way too much for Sandshadow to handle. They continued the game, giggling every now and then over the ridiculous combos they could come up with, no longer focused on learning herbs.

************()************************()********** *****************()******

Blizzardstar was in her den, trying to decide who she would apprentice Embersong's kits to. She had few choices; SnowClan didn't exactly have many warriors. Blizzardstar was thinking that she could apprentice Icekit to herself and give her something to do other than sitting around in her den. Tangleclaw would be good for Wolfkit, as they had similar personalities and could understand each other.

Blizzardstar's dilemma was who Tigerkit's mentor would be. She could think of no one who could handle the rambunctious kit, including her. Blizzardstar had a tendency to become annoyed easily, and staying with a cat like Tigerkit every day would just throw her off the edge.

Shaking her head, Blizzardstar decided to take a break. Thinking that maybe it would clear her mind a bit, and help her decide, Blizzardstar walked out of her den. She jumped down to the level where the warrior den was, then jumped down to Centerplace. Blizzardstar looked toward the medicine cat den, thinking that she could ask Mysticmist for advice, but then remembered that she had gone out with Whitepaw.

Blizzardstar was getting ready to return to her den when Sandshadow ran up behind her.

"Border patrol found a tom in the forest," he meowed, frantic. "He's severely injured. Do you know where Mysticmist and Whitepaw are?"

Blizzardstar told him that they had gone out to the fields to train a bit, and Sandshadow ran out and climbed down the cliff leading to camp. Blizzardstar came down after him, wanting to see this tom.

Bluefern had already found Mysticmist and Whitepaw, and Mysticmist was already looking at the tom to examine his injuries. The tom, who had a bright orange pelt and green eyes, was limping and had a bad cut on the side of his neck. Mysticmist was telling Whitepaw to get some herbs for her, and was trying to treat the orange tom on the way to camp.

Mysticmist had already realized that the tom wouldn't be able to climb into camp with the injury to his hind left leg. Whitepaw dashed back and forth, bringing Mysticmist the various herbs that she had asked for. Mysticmist was chewing some burdock roots to put on the tom's cut, which had shown signs of infection. Whitepaw was helping too, by tending to the less severe injuries of the tom, leaving the leg and the large cut to Mysticmist.

Whitepaw was chewing some burdock leaves to put on s somewhat large cut that she had found on the tom's side as well. It seemed more recent, and didn't show infection. Blizzardstar was amazed at the speed that Mysticmist and Whitepaw were moving, and in only a few minutes the majority of the tom's injuries were tended to.

Mysticmist needed to get the tom into her den to tend to his leg, but that was the problem as well; the tom could not climb into SnowClan's camp. The panting tom had said he would try, but Mysticmist didn't want him to be injured further.

Blizzardstar, who wanted to get to know this to a little bit, meowed, "And what is your name?"

Panting from the pain, the tom responded, "It's Streak."

Blizzardstar nodded, and climbed back into camp, along with the majority of the border patrol. Bluefern and Fuzzypaw had stayed behind with Streak, Mysticmist, and Whitepaw, but Tangleclaw and Sandshadow had come with Blizzardstar. Sapphirespirit, Embersong and her kits, Sparrowtail and Hawkpaw came to see what all the commotion was about. Silverheart was sleeping in the nursery, and Icewish and Yarrow were napping in another cave.

Yarrow had decided to stay with SnowClan, and was receiving her warrior name later that day.

Blizzardstar informed the cats of what was happening outside, a few of them going outside for a peek at Streak.

A few hours later, Streak was able to climb, slowly, up to SnowClan camp. As everyone was now safely inside camp, Blizzardstar hopped up to Juttingrock.

"May all cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather under Juttingrock!" She meowed, the Clan gathering under her.

"Wolfkit, come forward."

Wolfkit hesitantly stepped forward, unsure as of yet what was happening.

"Wolfkit," Blizzardstar meowed, "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Wolfpaw."

Below, Embersong beamed.

Blizzardstar continued the ceremony, calling Tangleclaw forward. "Your mentor will be Tangleclaw. I hope that Tangleclaw will pass down all she knows onto you." Looking at Tangleclaw, Blizzardstar kept going. "Tangleclaw, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You are an excellent warrior, and have shown yourself to be patient and intelligent. You will be the mentor of Wolfpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Wolfpaw."

Tangleclaw and Wolfpaw touched noses, and SnowClan cheered, "Wolfpaw, Wolfpaw, Wolfpaw!" Wolfpaw ran to see Icekit, Tigerkit, and Embersong, and Blizzardstar started the next ceremony.

Blizzardstar apprenticed Icekit to herself, and they touched noses. SnowClan cheered again, "Icepaw, Icepaw!" echoing through the caves.

"Tigerkit, come forward."

Tigerkit jumped forward, eager to become an apprentice.

"Tigerkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Tigerpaw. Your mentor will be Sapphirespirit. I hope Sapphirespirit will pass down all she knows onto you."

"Sapphirespirit, please step forward."

Sapphirespirit emerged from the crowd of cats, coming up next to Tigerpaw.

"Sapphirespirit, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training, and have shown yourself to be understanding and strong. You will be the mentor of Tigerpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know onto Tigerpaw."

Sapphirespirit and Tigerpaw touched noses, and the Clan cheered Tigerpaw's name.

Mysticmist had stayed with Streak throughout the ceremonies. She had cheered along with the rest of SnowClan, but didn't move from the side of the moss nest Streak was in. He kept insisting that Mysticmist go join Whitepaw and the rest of the cats, but Mysticmist hadn't budged. She wanted to make sure that Streak survived, and so far he was doing pretty well.

Mysticmist's ears perked up as Blizzardstar continued, now giving Yarrow her warrior name.

"Yarrow, please step forward."

Silence, except for the sound of Yarrow moving up to the front, right in front of Blizzardstar.

"I, Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. She has worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Yarrow, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Yarrow, from this moment on, you will be known as Mistflower. StarClan honors your strength and perseverance, and welcome you as a full warrior of SnowClan."

"Mistflower, Mistflower!" SnowClan cheered, Mysticmist joining in.

Streak watched the whole meeting, and when Blizzardstar dismissed the cats, he turned to Mysticmist.

"Would you accept me as a warrior?" he questioned.

Mysticmist would have said 'yes' right then and there, but knew that Blizzardstar would question why Streak was in their territory anyway. Blizzardstar was becoming stricter since SnowClan was now a decent size. "Maybe, if you can give our leader a reason to keep you here. Otherwise, once you're healthy, you will have to leave."

Streak nodded, but had the look in his eyes that showed that he wanted to stay and become part of SnowClan. Mysticmist admired that determination, and told Streak that she would put in a good word about him. He smiled, and Mysticmist said he would get better quicker if he slept a little bit, and gave him some poppy seeds.

*****[]*****[]*****[]*****[]*****[]*****[]*****[]* ****[]*****[]*****[]*****[]**

Blizzardstar walked out into the warmth of sunhigh, with her new apprentice, Icepaw. A chilly breeze blew across their pelts, but most SnowClan cats were used to the cold winds that were common there. A light dusting of snow that was already melting was in small piles, scattered across the small clearing. Most of the snow on the trees was already melted, or dripping from the higher branches.

As Blizzardstar and Icepaw made their way to Bushring, Blizzardstar and Icepaw both noticed that Tangleclaw and Sparrowtail were already training in the ring of bushes. Icepaw, eager to see Wolfpaw, ran ahead, with Blizzardstar trotting along behind her.

"Blizzardstar! Hi!" Tangleclaw meowed enthusiastically.

Smiling, Blizzardstar came into Bushring. "What are you working on?"

"This," Tangleclaw meowed, getting ready to show Wolfpaw and Hawkpaw the new move.

Tangleclaw reared up, and brought her front paws down next to Sparrowtail.

"That," she said, "Is what we are working on now. Also, if the cat you are fighting uses the same move, you can do this."

This time, Sparrowtail reared up first, and Tangleclaw mimicked his move. Sparrowtail wrestled with Tangleclaw a bit, just to show the apprentices what they should do, then flipped Tangleclaw under him.

Wolfpaw and Icepaw, who had already taken up positions next to each other, stared.

"We're supposed to know how to do that?" Wolfpaw mewed, still staring at Tangleclaw and Sparrowtail. Tangleclaw's response was a simple nod.

The six cats began working on the new move, the apprentices still a bit unsure of themselves. Slowly but surely, the apprentices were able to do the move fluidly against any sparring partner they had.

Wanting to show the apprentices what they could do if _they_ were the ones pinned on the ground, Blizzardstar suggested teaching them the belly rake.

"You can use this move if you are the one who was wrestled to the ground," she meowed, as she reared up to face Sparrowtail. Sparrowtail reared up as well, and pushed Blizzardstar under him. Careful to keep her claws sheathed, Blizzardstar began to rake at Sparrowtail's stomach. Blizzardstar then turned on her side and slid under Sparrowtail, knocking a few of his legs out and toppling him to the ground in the process.

"The last part was extra, it was combining the belly rake with another move."

The group worked on the belly rake, but only Hawkpaw was able to combine the moves as Blizzardstar did. When the sun set in the far off place, they decided to stop for the day, as another hunting patrol had to go out.

Nella crawled through the thick bushes as she made her way up the mountain. Her previously gold fur was stained with spots of dark red where she had injured herself on the various thorns on the bushes. _Stupid!_ _Now they might be able to track my scent!_

Desperate, Nella came out on the other side of the bush wall, running as fast as her paws could manage. She shivered as a freezing wind bit at her fur. _And a bunch of cats actually _live_ up here? They must be crazy, or have crazy thick pelts! It snows so much out here, I'm thinking their pelts are made of snow or something._

Shaking her head, Nella focused again on running. It only got harder and harder, as the mountain became steeper with every step she took. Breathing hard, Nella came to a small forest. She decided to take shelter there, as the wind became colder and the moon began to rise in the now dark blue sky.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The cold wind nipped at Nella, chilling her to the bone. Pure white snow lay in heaps around her, a few areas still clear due to the cover of the trees. The branches above creaked, the weight of the wet snow weighing down on them. Some snow fell off of a branch above Nella, landing in a wet heap on top of her.

Nella woke with a start, panicking. She struggled to the top of the snow pile, gasping. Now thoroughly soaked, Nella crept off of the newly formed mound of snow and out onto the wet, muddy ground. Her gold paws sunk a kittenstep or so into the thick mud. The mud make a squelching sound as Nella picked up her paw, then another squelch as she picked up her other paw. As long as she moved quickly, Nella discovered that her paws would not sink, at least not very deep.

Nella turned toward the large, flat tan rock she had found in the middle of the small forest. The grass had already disappeared into the brown of the wet dirt, as the snow from the previous night had melted so quickly.

When the trees thinned, Nella could make out the flat rock that was quite large. Nella kept moving, but now running to get to the rock. The trees finally stopped near the edge of the rock, and Nella leapt onto it.

Nella was surprised to find that the rock was warm, considering that snow had been falling most of the night. The rock seemed to collect the heat, and Nella believed that was why no snow was on the rock, and it wasn't even wet on any part.

Looking across the rock, Nella estimated that it was about eight or nine tail-lengths long, and about the same width. There were a few fox-lengths separating the rock from the forest.

Welcoming the warmth of the rock, Nella laid down on her side and warmed her cold body. She closed her eyes, as she hadn't entirely finished sleeping yet. The warm surface of the rock made her even sleepier, and it wasn't long before Nella was incredibly drowsy.

Again, Nella's almost-sleep was interrupted. However, this time it was the barks of a pack of dogs. Nella fully woke up immediately. It was only three dogs, but it was a three-to-one fight, and Nella had never gone up against dogs before.

Nella's heart thumped quickly and loudly in her chest. She was shaking with fright, and the three dogs closed in.

One dog was a deep black, another pure white. The last dog was a mix, looking almost like a tortoiseshell cat. All dogs were somewhat small, but frightening nonetheless. The black dog jumped up the one tail-length that it took to get up on the rock. Nella's ears went back as the black dog growled at her. With each step the dog took, Nella went back.

The remaining two dogs jumped up, cornering Nella. _Food, food_, they growled.

The white dog bit at Nella, but Nella moved in time to avoid it. The multi-colored dog caught her back leg, causing Nella to scream in pain. The black dog was about to catch her neck when it turned around to face something behind it.

A black tom with 3 orange stripes stood behind the dog, hissing. Nella opened her amber eyes wide, amazed by this tom's courage. The two other dogs faced the tom as well, and the multi-colored dog dropped Nella's leg.

The white dog was then distracted by an orange brown tom and a calico tom with white paws. The two toms had jumped onto the dog's back, and were biting and clawing at the dog's white fur, staining it with blood. Not eager to stay when it was getting injured, the white dog ran off, and the two toms jumped off.

Nella slowly limped away from the dogs and the cats, not wanting to stay in case the cats lost. An orange tom was fighting the multi-colored dog by himself, and Nella began to wonder who these cats were. And why they were saving her.

The black dog was still squared off against the black and orange tom, but then the tom slid under the dog, clawing it's stomach then knocking it to the ground. The orange-brown tom had joined the black one, fighting the black dog.

The two toms were biting and clawing at the dog, but on opposite sides. As soon as the dog would turn to face one cat, the other would already be clawing or biting the dog on the other side. Having had enough, the black dog ran, tail tucked under itself, whimpering.

Nella watched as the four cats now fought against the last dog. The dog, after seeing the rest of it's pack run in fear, decided to do the same. It turned to the left, and ran.

Nella limped further into the cover of the trees, hiding from the strange cats. She had just seen them chase a pack of dogs away, and she wasn't sure if they would turn on her. Nella had begun to think that the cats were part of the Clan that lived up here, and she didn't think they would like the fact that she was trespassing in their territory.

The orange tom sniffed the air, and turned toward Nella.

"I know you're there!" he yelled. "You might as well come out!"

Hesitantly, Nella limped out of the forest. The group of cats padded over to her.

"I don't know why you're in our territory," The black tom hissed. "But you might want to get that leg looked at before it gets infected."

Nella glanced back at her mutilated hind leg, and shuddered. She probably _should_ get it looked at.

The Clan cats led Nella to their camp, which turned out to be a cave. Nella walked up to the cliff she was supposed to somehow climb up, and put her front paws on one of the branches. Nella hoisted herself up, careful to put little weight on her bad leg. Slowly, she ascended the cliff.

The four toms Nella had met were waiting at the top of the cliff, and the calico tom helped Nella up the last bit of cliff.

"Thanks," she meowed.

The black tom with the orange stripes led Nella to the medicine cat den, as the other cats had already left. Slowly, Nella limped into the den.

As soon as she walked in, a blue she-cat with a silver patch on her forehead came over to look over her injuries.

The she-cat started telling an albino she-cat to get many different herbs, none of which Nella recognized. The albino she-cat began chewing one herb, then began to apply it to Nella's leg.

"What's that?" Nella questioned.

"What? Oh, this is some alder. It'll make sure your leg doesn't get infected."

"Oh."

As the two cats continued to help Nella with her leg, Nella took the chance to look around a bit. From what she could tell, the cave extended upward. The cave she was currently in had various herbs lining the walls, and a few moss nests on the far end. In one of these nests lay an orange tom, who was sleeping soundly. He had various cuts along his body, and Nella began to wonder what happened. She made a mental note to ask him later, if she stayed that long.

Nella turned her attention back to the cats attending her. The blue she-cat was now putting some cobwebs on her leg wound, but Nella didn't feel like asking what for. Now that the adrenaline Nella had had was gone, she began to feel the throbbing pain in her leg. She groaned, and the blue gray she-cat turned to her.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she meowed. "I'm going to get you some poppy seeds to help with the pain and so you can sleep and heal this nasty injury."

The she-cat turned away, running to grab some poppy seeds. She stuck a few to her paw pad, and offered them to Nella, who ate them willingly.

"There," the she-cat purred. "That should help with the pain."

"Thanks," Nella murmured. Nella sat down, feeling a bit woozy. She figured it was from the loss of blood; it had taken her a while just to get to camp. All of a sudden, Nella collapsed in a heap on the cave floor.

Nella woke up a few hours later, and found herself laying in a moss bed. The blue she-cat immediately rushed to her side.

"Thank StarClan you're alright! You just collapsed, and I was worried! I should have known better and all, since you came from Flatrock."

_Flatrock?_ Nella asked herself. She was confused, but shook the thought from her mind. Looking at the empty moss nest next to her, Nella realized that the orange tom had left. She sat up, wondering where he had gone. When Nella's gaze drifted over to the entrance to the cave, she saw him laying there, staring out into the main cavern.

The tom's head turned around.

"Oh, hi! You're up! You should have seen it. Two of those cats that saved you just became warriors!"

Nella sat upright and began licking one of her paws.

"Which ones?" she questioned. "There were four."

The tom's face suddenly had a look of confusion.

"Well," he meowed, "The calico one, Fuzzypaw, became Fuzzypelt. The orange-brown tom became Hawkblaze. The other two were already warriors, I think."

_This tom seems to know a lot about the lives of these cats! How long has he been here?_

"Huh. So, what's your name?"

"Streak. What's yours?"

"Nella. So, anyway, how long have you been here? You seem to know a lot about how these cats live."

"Well, I've been here a day or so. It's hard to tell when I've been stuck in this den. But it feels like a day."

Nella and Streak shared a quick laugh. Then Streak continued.

"I'm pretty sure I want to stay. It's better than braving another cold leaf-bare on my own again."

Nella nodded in understanding. Coming from Twolegplace, she didn't really know what it was like to not have a Twoleg nest to beg your way into as soon as it was cold outside.

"I don't know… I came from Twolegplace, and I think I can find a safe place to stay. But with cats like Crimson and Scar there, I feel stuck. I don't know if I want to stay, or live out on my own."

Streak shook his head. "Take it from a cat who has lived on his own for a while; don't try to live on your own. It's hard, and it gets to you."

Nella nodded, but was still pretty certain that she would leave as soon as she healed.

Nella began to stand up, wanting to see how much her leg had healed. After she was certain that she was stable on three legs, Nella carefully touched her bad leg to the cave floor. It didn't hurt, so she pushed it a bit by putting some weight on it.

Instantly, red-hot pain racked Nella's body. She lifted her leg a little too quickly, and she fell to the floor. Streak ran over to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Nella slowly got back up, and made her way to the moss nest, from which she had fallen a few fox-lengths from. Even the short distance was hard to cover. Nella laid down in the moss nest, new pain invading her every thought. She made an attempt to conceal the pain, but realized that it would be better to ask for more poppy seeds.

"Do you know where the medicine cat went off to?"

"Mysticmist? I think she's eating right now, but I'll yell for her."

Streak stuck his head outside of the den, and yelled, "Mysticmist!"

A few moments later, Mysticmist came running.

"What is it?" she asked, looking worried.

"Nella tried putting weight on her leg, and she fell."

Mysticmist turned to Nella, her eyes burning with anger.

"That was mouse-brained of you! You might have made it worse!" Mysticmist hissed. Then, her expression softened a bit, but a little of the anger was still visible in her eyes. Mysticmist sighed. "Do you need something? I'm guessing the pain is back, yes?"

Nella nodded, and Mysticmist grabbed some more poppy seeds. Nella licked the seeds off of Mysticmist's paw pad, and laid back down.

Mysticmist looked at Nella's leg, and shook her head.

"I think you made it bleed again…" Mysticmist sighed, then grabbed some cobwebs and began putting them on Nella's wound, replacing the ones that could no longer stop the bleeding.

Streak yawned, and stretched. He padded over to the moss nest next to Nella, and dozed off. Nella, suddenly tired as well, closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. She dozed off, Mysticmist still tending to her leg.

**Yay! I finally got another chapter ahead of schedule! I'm surprised that no one is wondering what Crimson has been doing this whole time… Oh well. The truth is, I haven't been in the mood to write about her, but I guess I will have to eventually.**

**If anyone has ideas on what should happen next, pm me! I have writer's block yet again. IT HURTS! THE EMPTINESS! Save me from the pain!**

**Remember to review, and don't be flamers! Thanks to those of you who have been reviewing my stuff, I really appreciate it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yay! I feel like I'm finally going to finish this… Which is a nice feeling! Anyway, I got this chapter done with two bad fingers, so you better like it. (Just kidding. You don't have to like it, just don't be a flamer. Pwease?)**

Chapter 14

Nella stalked through the woods, searching for prey in the empty white.

It was a quarter-moon or so after Nella had met SnowClan. They had healed her leg in only a few days, but Nella would walk with a limp for the rest of her life. Nella knew Clan life wasn't for her, and had left after her leg was healed. Streak had continually advised against it, but Nella had ignored him. Now she wished she hadn't.

The freezing wind bit into Nella's pelt, chilling her to the bone. She pushed forward through the blizzard, determined to keep going. But with every strong gust of wind that blew by, Nella was less determined to continue.

The snow had already piled a few fox-lengths high, but it was enough to make traveling difficult for Nella. She limped along, pushing through the snow. Her injured leg dragged behind her, as Nella was becoming too tired to even lift it anymore. The same went for her other paws, causing her to leave long trails in the snow.

Nella looked behind her, the snow now blowing into her eyes. The tracks she had just made had disappeared, covered by snow. Nella was amazed by the intensity of this snowstorm. It had only started a few minutes ago, and yet it was already deep enough to make traveling hard!

The wind and snow combined became too much for Nella, and she turned her back to the onslaught yet again. Not knowing what else to do, Nella pushed through the ever-increasing snow, into the white beyond.

"I've never seen it get this bad!" Sandshadow yelled over the howling wind.

"Me neither!" Bluefern yelled back. "This is too much!"

"Well, we have to get food somehow!"

Bluefern nodded, then shook the snow off of his orange fur. The snow was the wet kind, not the soft powdery kind. It was sticking to Sandshadow's and Bluefern's pelts, not only making them colder, but making it harder to move.

"I can't believe Nella left to go out into _this_!" Sandshadow yelled again, trying to keep his mind off of the cold.

"Really! She must be mouse-brained!"

"I hate to speak bad of Blizzardstar, but does she really think we can find prey in _this_?!"

Bluefern sighed, but the sound of it was quickly carried away by the wind.

"What?!" Sandshadow asked, loudly, so that his voice could be heard.

Bluefern shook his head. "Nothing! Let's just get this done with and get back to camp before our paws are so frozen we can't climb up!"

The two toms were quiet then as they tried to locate prey. Bluefern tried to sniff the air, but got a snow clump in the face. As he attempted to clean it off, Sandshadow was snickering a bit, thinking it was hilarious. Bluefern gave him a glare, but said nothing. The two toms then again focused on the task at hand; finding and catching prey.

As Sandshadow and Bluefern stumbled blindly into the white of the blizzard, they could faintly hear someone behind them. This continued for a few more minutes, until Sandshadow had to know if someone was there or not.

"Who's there?!" He yelled over the wind. "I can hear you!"

The sound stopped when they did. As an experiment, Sandshadow lifted his paws and set them down on the snow, making the slight _crunch _sound he wanted. As he figured, the pawsteps he had been hearing seemed to come closer. He did it again, this time going lighter and lighter to make it sound as if he was walking away. Sure enough, Sandshadow heard the familiar _crunch_ behind him. Nodding to Bluefern, the two toms quickly changed directions to go behind them.

The pelt of a cream colored tom suddenly materialized in the empty white of the landscape. The startled tom's ears went back against his head, and then he ran.

Sandshadow was ready to take off after the tom, but Bluefern stopped him.

"We won't be able to find him anyway! Not in this weather!"

Sandshadow stared off into the direction the tom had run off in, growled, then turned away.

******************()***********************()***** *****************()******

After a while, the blizzard let up a bit. It was enough so that Bluefern and Sandshadow could see in front of them, making hunting a bit easier. The snow wasn't falling as hard anymore, but walking through the already high piles of snow was still difficult.

Bluefern turned to look to his left, as a sudden noise was heard. Sandshadow was digging out a frozen carcass that was buried in a snow bank.

"What are you doing?" Bluefern questioned.

Sandshadow looked over his shoulder at Bluefern. With a mouthful of rabbit, he mumbled, "Well, we need to bring _something _back, and it seems fresh anyway."

Bluefern shook his head, but silently admitted that Sandshadow was right. _What did Blizzardstar think we could even catch in the middle of a full blown blizzard?!_

Bluefern's eyes then caught some movement, and he quickly turned his head to see what it was. Bluefern was only quick enough to catch a glimpse of a squirrel, it's bushy brown tail cutting the blanket of snow. Giving Sandshadow a quick glance, Bluefern took off after the squirrel, attempting to catch it in the tree.

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"What were you _thinking?_" Silverheart hissed.

"Well, we can't go without food for so long! Especially not in this weather! Soon we won't even be able to get out! Have you even _seen _how much of the cliff is covered with snow yet?" Blizzardstar snapped, finally losing her patience with Silverheart. Silverheat had been yelling at her for a while now, and Blizzardstar figured it was because Sandshadow was out on the hunting patrol.

"Yes!" Silverheart yelled, drawing attention. "And that is exactly why you should have waited! You sent them out in a full blown blizzard! They could have died already!"

That last sentence drew the attention of most of SnowClan. Whispers ran through the caves, but they only made Blizzardstar angrier. She was about to respond when a soaked Bluefern and Sandshadow stumbled into Centerplace.

Silverheart's eyes went wide, and she yelled for Sandshadow. Sandshadow dropped his rabbit in the fresh-kill pile and ran over to where Silverheart and Blizzardstar were standing.

"See? They're fine," Blizzardstar mumbled. She turned away to make her way to her den, leaving Silverheart and Sandshadow in Centerplace. The cats who had been watching the heated argument then continued on their way.

As Blizzardstar was climbing up to her den, she heard a squeal coming from Centerplace. Judging from the high pitch, Blizzardstar thought it was Icepaw.

Due to the blizzard outside, a few apprentices and their mentors had decided to train inside. Luckily, Centerplace was more than large enough to fit apprentices and their mentors while they trained, as well as all of SnowClan.

Blizzardstar hoisted herself over the ledge to get into her den, and padded over to her moss nest. She was just about to lay down when Bluefern climbed over as well.

"What is it, Bluefern? I'm not in the best mood right now."

"That's exactly why I came."

Blizzardstar sighed. "You came to yell at me as well? I know it was stupid…"

Bluefern's expression became quizzical. _Blizzardstar? Doubting her decisions? There must be something more than a few bad blizzards and a low fresh-kill pile happening here._

Bluefern, having suddenly lost his train of thought, gave Blizzardstar a blank look.

"Well?" Blizzardstar asked, waiting for Bluefern to say something.

Not wanting to look like an idiot in front of the Clan leader, Bluefern decided to pursue a new idea.

"It's you. Something is…different."

"Are you trying to say something is wrong with me?" Blizzardstar meowed, a hint of anger in her voice. She was obviously trying to hold back her anger.

"You were starting to doubt things. You never did that before, and I doubt it's the result of a low fresh-kill pile and some bad blizzards. I mean, sure, there's stress involved, but it never bothered you before. What's different?"

"Leave."

"What?"

"Leave!" Blizzardstar hissed, rising from her moss nest. "I want you to leave! Now!"

Surprised by Blizzardstar's sudden outburst, Bluefern quickly left the den.

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Scamp's paws throbbed, his throat was dry. Despite the pain, he kept running. Running from the blood-stained streets he used to call his home. Away from the cold bodies that used to be his family. From those pure white fangs that had killed so many already. From the fangs that had sounded so sweet, up until they were stained red.

It had sounded so enticing.

_All you have to do is fight some cats with me. That's all, and you don't have to worry about your sisters anymore._

Then Scamp came to know why he wouldn't have to worry about his sisters anymore. He shook his head to try and push the sounds from his mind, the sound of his two sisters screaming for his help.

Scamp had ran. He didn't want to be a part of this stupid scheme anyway. For all he cared, it would only injure more innocent cats.

Scamp jumped over some snow, white still covering parts of his fur. The calico tom ran farther, gasping for air now as his lungs burned and begged him to stop. His bright green eyes scanned the area around him, to see if anyone was following him. Not seeing anyone, he stopped.

His chest rose and fell, desperately trying to get more air into Scamp's lungs. All of a sudden, Scamp's legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed into a heap.

"Oh, Scamp. This would have been _so _much easier if you had just stayed. Ah, well then, down to business right?"

Before Scamp passed out, he could see the glinting fangs of Crimson, who was now standing over him.

**Whew! That took forever! Seriously, writer's block is a curse! A CURSE I TELL YOU! So, it would help A LOT if anyone has some tips for me. Oh, and if anyone had read my new, and updated summary, you might be able to find out why Blizzardstar is being so odd, and why I'm making a fuss! Wait…WHY DO I GIVE YOU GUYS HINTS LIKE THIS?! I'M TOO NICE! Where's that duct tape? Oh, yay, there it is. No more hints for you! I will not do it! *Puts duct tape over mouth***

**(Hope you enjoyed! Sorry I'm a day or so late, I know how annoying it is for an author not to update, so I'm sorry for my faithful readers. I promise it will pick up soon! I realize it's been a bit…monotone? Is that the right word? Anyway, I plan to have something **_**interesting **_**happen, FINALLY! So, now you have to wait a week. I'm nice.)**


	15. Chapter 15

**I shall give you my excuse for a late chapter later. For now, enjoy chapter 15!**

Chapter 15

The darkness crawled over the land as the sun set over the mountains. The ground was wet and mushy, due to the blizzard. A few lone streaks of light stayed, determined to push away the darkness. The darkness crept closer, overcoming the light. In the sky, the stars began to shine. Silverpelt shone brightly, surrounded by the black of the night sky.

Swiftfire sat looking over the ever-darkening landscape. It was only a few hours ago that his name had been Streak.

Swiftfire had just gotten his warrior name not too long ago, and he was performing his night vigil. Although he would have liked to have Nella with him, she decided to leave shortly before the horrible blizzard started. Swiftfire hoped that she had made it through.

Some voices from inside the caves distracted Swiftfire, and he turned to look. Mysticmist and Whitepaw were talking in Centerplace, barely audible.

"Whitepaw, would you mind taking over for a bit? I feel extremely tired, but I just wanted to make sure you could last tonight without any sleep. After all, since Nella left and Swiftfire is alright, most of the cats that come are complaining of coughs or something minor. I know you can handle that already."

"I'm fine with that, Mysticmist," came the reply.

Whitepaw must have had quite a grin on her face, because Mysticmist then meowed, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Oh, Whitepaw, wipe that grin from your face. You think I trust you that much?"

The two she-cats shared a laugh. Swiftfire then heard the sound of Whitepaw and Mysticmist moving away, most likely to the medicine cat den. Swiftfire then refocused on the task at hand; his night vigil.

Mysticmist dropped into her moss nest, her eyelids heavy. With a sigh, she settled down, ready to sleep. Curling around herself, Mysticmist closed her eyes, confident that Whitepaw could manage without her. As sleep overcame her, Mysticmist could faintly hear Whitepaw padding into the den.

Instead of being greeted by a normal dream, Mysticmist found herself in the fields of StarClan, and she knew something had to be happening. It wasn't the fact that StarClan had come to her in a dream, it was a sense that the reason they had come to her was not a good one.

"Hello once again, Mysticmist," a voice said from behind. Turning around, Mysticmist saw Hiddentail, the medicine cat of the first SnowClan. Lately, Hiddentail had been visiting Mysticmist more often, whether though dreams or simple signs. Mysticmist had begun to wonder why, but wrote it off as the fact that they were both medicine cats, as well as the fact that Hiddentail was in StarClan, and was helping guide her.

"Hiddentail!" Mysticmist meowed, happy to see him. Then, her expression turned more serious. "It's nice to see you, but I know that I'm here for a reason. What is it?"

"Ah, right to the point. I like that about you," Hiddentail responded, bowing his head a bit. "I actually bring this message:

_One is drawn into darkness,_

_Three will rise from the light in between._

_But the barrier will weaken, and the light will go dim, _

_Leaving the three lost in the dark._

_One will fade from memory,_

_Another will fade from sight._

_The last will lose himself._

_While traveling to restore the barrier, two cats shall fall into StarClan,_

_Leaving a survivor to find the answers, and a storm to piece them together."_

Hiddentail paused, waiting for Mysticmist's response. Getting nothing from the she-cat, who seemed lost in thought, Hiddentail turned to leave.

Mysticmist hardly noticed that Hiddentail was leaving, as she was thinking about the prophecy. Shaking her head to clear her mind a bit, Mysticmist realized that she was no longer in StarClan's fields, but rather in her moss nest, morning now seeping into the den.

A drowsy Swiftfire padded silently past Mysticmist, returning from his night vigil. Mysticmist opened her mouth to say something, but decided otherwise.

Mysticmist trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, which was now dangerously low. Mysticmist picked up a stick-thin rabbit, and began to eat. Hearing some noise behind her, Mysticmist turned to look over her shoulder. She saw Whitepaw, who was also coming to the fresh-kill pile.

"Have a nice nap Mysticmist?" Whitepaw asked, grabbing a mouse.

"It looks like it turned into full on sleeping, seeing as it's morning already."

"Well, I guess you did have a nice 'nap'."

"Whitepaw, I have something we need to talk about."

Whitepaw turned to look at Mysticmist. "What is it?"

"A prophecy from Hiddentail."

Whitepaw looked interested, but serious at the same time. "Do you remember how it went?"

Mysticmist nodded, and meowed, "Yes. It went something like this:

One is drawn into darkness,

Three will rise from the light in between.

But the barrier will weaken, and the light will go dim,

Leaving the three lost in the dark.

One will fade from memory,

Another will fade from sight.

The last will lose himself.

While traveling to restore the barrier, two cats shall fall into StarClan,

Leaving a survivor to find the answers, and a storm to piece them together."

Whitepaw stared, curiosity and confusion showing in her eyes.

Before Whitepaw could say anything, Mysticmist meowed, "I know. I don't get it either. Who are the three? And then there is a survivor and a storm. I don't think we have any cats that are called 'Survi-'"

It hit Mysticmist. Icewish! She used to be Survivor, before she became a warrior.

"What? What did you figure out?" Whitepaw mewed, wondering why Mysticmist had suddenly stopped talking.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Icewish, she used to be Survivor. Before we formed SnowClan and all, her name was Survivor," Mysticmist said, pulling herself out of her thoughts. Whitepaw nodded, although she didn't completely understand. To her, knowing names of her clanmates before they became warriors didn't matter too much at this moment. What mattered was figuring out what the prophecy was trying to tell them.

"But the storm," Whitepaw began, shaking her head, "who would the storm be? I don't think we have any cats with 'storm' being part of their name."

"Maybe this will happen later, and we _will _have a cat with 'storm' being part of their name. I don't know. I just don't know," Mysticmist sighed. "Let us try this later, maybe we can figure something out over time."

"Sure. I can't think of anything this prophecy could possibly mean anyway," Whitepaw meowed. Then, yawning, she continued. "Well, I need a nap too now, I was up for a while. I'll be back later, Mysticmist."

Mysticmist nodded to Whitepaw in response, and returned to her den. Looking around the room, Mysticmist made various mental notes, things such as _get more cobwebs _or _see how Sandshadow's cough is doing_. Mysticmist tried to take her mind off of the prophecy, thinking that she might then notice something that would give her an idea as to what the prophecy meant.

Mysticmist sighed, and went back out into Centerplace. She took a quick glance outside, wanting to see what all the snow had done to the mountain SnowClan lived on. The ground was muddy, looking almost flooded with all the snow that had become water.

_That was quite a storm, that blizzard. _Mysticmist shook her head. _I'm starting to wonder if these storms will ever stop coming. When one is finished, and partly gone, another one comes to take it's place! It's crazy! _

Mysticmist turned away from the entrance, looking at the pathetic fresh-kill pile. It was rarely ever more than a few skinny rabbits or squirrels anymore. A lot of the cats in SnowClan had lost a lot of weight, their previously thicker frames now reduced to skin stretched over bones. Some cats weren't as bad, but this famine was not good for the growing Clan.

_But then Blizzardstar starts sending cats out into blizzards to hunt. The whole Clan is going crazy! _Mysticmist still thought she could hear her ears ringing every now and then after Silverheart's screaming fit. Mysticmist had been surprised that Blizzardstar didn't completely lose her temper immediately after Silverheart started yelling at the top of her lungs.

Wolfpaw, Tigerpaw, and Icepaw were of in a corner of Centerplace, their mentors trying to train them despite the weather. Mysticmist turned the other direction to look at a few cats who had gathered in a corner and were seemingly talking about something. Not caring to know what the conversation was about, Mysticmist continued to scan the room.

Finding nothing more of interest, Mysticmist padded back into her den. She dropped down into her moss nest, not knowing what else to do. Mysticmist rolled onto her side, and let out a sigh.

A cold breeze blew through the den. _Stupid wind! It always brings storms! I've had enough of blizzards._

**Hey! I do know this is at least a day late. I'm sorry! It's partly the writer's block, but I have a huge project for LA that I've been working on, and it's caused me to totally ignore my fic. No excuses next update, because I definitely SHOULD have a next chapter up on time, since it's almost the end of the school year anyway. **

**And I'm going to start doing this…MAYBE. Could I have…three reviews please? Oh, and I'll give you all doughnuts in the next chapter! If you give me three reviews for THIS CHAPTER! Notice I put emphasis on THIS CHAPTER? You should have. (And how did I do on the prophecy? Did you guys like it? Be honest. This was pretty much one of my first published prophecies, and I'm horrible at them anyway.)**

**And again, thanks for reading and don't forget to read and review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Did I get three reviews? Doesn't look like it, but hey! Still got views and one review! Well, doughnuts to everyone anyway! I'm not mean enough to make everyone wait for these delicious doughnuts here… Well, I guess I could. I just don't want to. Now, here is chapter 16, and I am hoping to now be halfway done! I'm planning 30-ish chapters, but plans don't always work out. But I will definitely do more than 20. Eh, enough rambling from me. Did that as a challenge already. I hope you like it, it's kind of short, but I wanted to end it the way I did. And you'll finally- NO! I'VE SAID TOO MUCH ALREADY! Where is that duct tape again? I know I left it here- there it is! *puts duct tape over mouth* **

Chapter 16

Scamp slowly crept along the path he though the squirrel had taken. He sniffed the air, to be sure, then picked up his pace. Now trotting down the small Thunderpath, Scamp tried to stay on the scent, the disgusting smell of monsters overpowering the smell of squirrel.

A blur of light brown fur sped up a tree, and Scamp darted after it. By the time Scamp got to the tree, the squirrel was safely nestled into it's den. Scamp let out a growl of frustration, and turned away from the tree. He heard the squirrel start to come out of it's home in a hollow tree branch, but continued to act as if he didn't. _I will draw it out, and catch it before it can run up the tree again. _

Just then, a huge yellow monster with flashing lights thundered by, scraping the snow off of the Thunderpath. Scamp winced at the noise and jumped backward, out of the way of the monster. The squirrel, equally as scared as Scamp, retreated back into the tree.

The monster kept going, and eventually disappeared over a small hill. Scamp hissed at the now non-existent monster, angry at it for chasing away his meal. With a last glance at the tree, Scamp padded away.

Crimson crouched down, looking at her prey. Even though the rabbit was still just a light gray shape to her, she could tell the difference. For her, this sudden onslaught of snow had been a good thing. Snow remained white, everything else was a different shade. Things were becoming more defined, but Crimson wasn't sure she would ever be able to see color again.

The rabbit chewed on some grass, one of the few patches where grass came through the snow. In an attempt to find more grass, it hopped a little closer to Crimson. Crimson was ready for this, and pounced. At this point, she closed her eyes. Crimson had been surprised the first time she did this it actually helped her, and it had become an instinct. Crimson felt the rabbit beneath her paws, and felt the blood rushing under her paws. Crimson bit the rabbit on the neck, and the small gray body went limp. Crimson opened her eyes, picked up the rabbit, and trotted calmly away.

She was partly annoyed with herself, still scolding herself inwardly for being so stupid during her first battle with SnowClan. Now, she almost feared that she would never truly get her vision back. She had long ago promised herself that she would get back at them. Now she would.

She had her 15 cats. All of them. All she had to do was wait for a half-moon for Greenleaf…

"So, any reasons _why _we're going back to Twolegplace? I mean, we've got enough mouths to feed as it is," Icewish meowed, following Bluefern and Fuzzypaw into Twolegplace.

"No real reason," Bluefern responded, not even looking at Icewish.

"Then why, exactly, are we going back?" Icewish asked, a bit of annoyance creeping into her voice. Icewish got no response from Bluefern, so she dropped the conversation.

They padded across the Thunderpath, not worrying about monsters. The Thunderpath had been pretty empty once leaf-bare started. However, the smell of the monsters lingered, and burned inside Icewish's nostrils. She had no idea why Bluefern had wanted to come here. Or why Blizzardstar was alright with it. It seemed as if the lack of food was driving everyone crazy.

Shaking her head to focus on what she was actually doing, Icewish looked around to see where they were now. There was a small tree to their left, a small squirrel hiding among it's branches. There was an odd kind of Thunderpath ahead of them, one that only a large monster used. It had many connections to other monsters, and Icewish didn't know what it was used for. Whatever it was, whenever the monster came by, large sticks would block access to the Thunderpath and bright red lights would blink.

Bluefern continued walking, right toward the mysterious kind of Thunderpath. Icewish and Fuzzypelt stayed behind a ways, unsure what Bluefern was doing. Fuzzypaw, however, trotted to catch up to Bluefern. He trusted Bluefern completely, as Bluefern used to me his mentor, and no matter what, Fuzzypelt looked up to Bluefern.

Icewish was still unsure if she should try to follow the two toms. As if StarClan had already made their decision on what she should do, the large sticks began to close off the Thunderpath. Bluefern continued walking, and came out on the other side of the Thunderpath. Fuzzypelt stopped, his ears back. _What is Bluefern doing?! He could be killed by that monster! _Icewish gasped as the huge monster flew by. Fuzzypelt ran back to Icewish, his eyes wide with fear. Icewish wanted to go run after Bluefern, but she couldn't. And it would take a long while before the monster would finally disappear from view.

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Bluefern winced a bit as the monster flew across the Thunderpath behind him. He looked around, wondering where she could be. _She said to meet here!_

A slender tortoiseshell she-cat slithered out from the shadows.

"Bluefern! I've been expecting you!" Crimson meowed, grinning. "Have you made up your mind? Believe me, it's better with me. With _us._"

**Well, it's short by my standards. Still over 1,000 words. It's my mini-plot twist thingy! But not really. Why? BECAUSE I SAID SO AND I'M THE AUTHOR HERE! Ok, I think this is a day-after update, but I was so psyched about this part for no reason, and I just HAD to write it before I wasn't so psyched anymore.**

**(I believe I have fully cured my writer's block! Expect regular updates again!)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello all! Hm…everything is checked off on my list of things to mention. Well then, enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 17

"Bluefern!" Icewish yelled, trying to yell over the sound of the large monster speeding down the strange Thunderpath in front of her. "Bluefern, are you OK?!"

Fuzzypelt did nothing, but simply stared in terror.

On the other side of the tracks, Bluefern and Crimson were still talking.

"Oh, why do you still stand with your beloved Blizzardstar?" Crimson asked, giving Bluefern a 'really?' look. "After all, I heard she's going crazy. Would you want to have a crazy she-cat by your side? Or a strong, capable she-cat?"

"You were blinded by Icewish. I don't find that capable. And where do you even get your information?"

Crimson now gave Bluefern a cold, hard stare. Then, she turned away from the tom. "Yes, I was."

Crimson spun around to face Bluefern again. "It doesn't mean I can't _smell _better than she can."

Crimson edged closer, and Bluefern backed up against a wall. "Or that I can't _hear _better than her."

Crimson moved as close as she could to Bluefern, her face now in his. "Or that I'm not better than she is!"

Bluefern's heart was beating faster than normal, and Crimson noticed. _Good. I want him to be scared. A little._ Crimson spun away, walking with her head high. Crimson took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly.

"My sister…my dear sister. She did this to me!" Crimson looked over her shoulder at Bluefern, long enough for him to really see what had happened when Icewish had blinded Crimson.

Both of Crimson's previously green-blue eyes were clouded. The odd thing was that a skinny orange line ran through the lower part of both irises, something Bluefern had never seen before. There were still patches of fur around Crimson's eyes that hadn't grown back completely, exposing the pink scars beneath. Bluefern involuntarily gasped, and Crimson quickly looked away.

Crimson remained somewhat on topic though, not wanting to waste whatever time she had left. "So, Bluefern. Would you rather stay with the near-insane SnowClan, those who will betray those who are in their own family? Or will you join me? I will remain loyal, unlike Icewish, or even Blizzardstar. Believe me, I _know _that they won't welcome you once they find out you've even talked to me. Hence the secrecy. Now then, before our cover is gone. Make your decision."

Bluefern had been looking at the ground, but he now looked up at Crimson. A loud horn was blown by the monster, signaling it has almost passed, drowning out Bluefern's answer. However, Crimson heard it, and she disappeared into the shadows.

Scamp watched from a corner, his eyes wide open at what he had just seen. He had no idea why Crimson wanted him there, but he had come. He had watched the deputy of SnowClan put trust in a she-cat you should never trust. Scamp had heard that there were two brothers who owed her, but ended up dead. No matter what, Scamp wanted to make sure he had no debt to Crimson.

_Trust, _Scamp began to tell himself. _It's the one thing Crimson could never truly have. She can have everything else, but not trust. And then, someone decides to actually trust her? Maybe Crimson is right, and SnowClan is going crazy because of the lack of food. Maybe that's it. Hopefully, this Bluefern will come to his senses. I hope he does… He'll regret his decision if he doesn't._

Scamp, with one last look at Bluefern, blended into the shadows. The cool of the dark welcomed him, but he tried to push out the comfort. He didn't want this. He didn't want to watch innocent cats fall at the paws of Crimson.

Scamp shook his head to clear it of memories that all fought for his attention. _I don't want any of you right now! It's not the time! _The memories came back, though, and Scamp tried once more to push them to the back of his mind. He could remember later. Finally, Scamp's memories retreated back into the depths of his mind, hidden until he wished to find them.

Scamp padded further into the empty black, wanting to get far away from Bluefern. Now Scamp let the darkness wrap him in it's cold embrace, welcoming the solitude. The dark now tried to get inside him, whispering in his ears that it could help. Scamp didn't want the help, and he kept it out. The pitch black around him gave up, leaving Scamp hollow and cold. And still, there was no light, no escape from the cold. Scamp became frantic as the dark began to close in on him, smothering him, forcing it's way in. He ran now, desperate to escape.

At long last, the light and warmth showed itself. Scamp eagerly ran into it, leaving the darkness and cold behind him. Scamp turned to look at where he had just been. A pair of cloudy blue-green eyes looked back at him. Then, reflecting what little light poured over into the dark ink, white fangs smiled at him. Scamp turned and ran, wanting to get far from those fangs, knowing they would turn red with his blood if he didn't.

"Bluefern! Thank StarClan you're alright!" Icewish sighed with relief. "I thought that the monster might have killed you!"

"No, I'm fine. I was simply waiting for the monster to pass, and I couldn't yell to you over the noise," Bluefern responded, smiling at his companions. This put them at ease, and both Icewish and Fuzzypelt decided not to pursue the topic.

"You never did answer my question. I think now you owe me an explanation, seeing as we did absolutely nothing when we came here," Icewish meowed, still curious as to why they had come to Twolegplace anyway.

A part of Bluefern's brain wanted to argue that yes, they had done something. At least _he _had. However, Bluefern went with the other side, the one that would give no explanation. So, he gave no response.

Icewish shook her head and didn't ask again. She knew now that she would get nothing out of Bluefern. But maybe Blizzardstar knew something. She should, but would she tell Icewish?

Icewish, Fuzzypelt, and Bluefern quickly made their way back to camp. They walked into camp, and were immediately bombarded with questions. _Where were you? What happened? Did you find something out? Why were you all gone for so long?_

Icewish was shocked. Bluefern has gotten no permission to go into Twolegplace! Blizzardstar had said beforehand that no cats were allowed to go into Twolegplace without her knowing. But yet, Bluefern, the one Blizzardstar trusts the most out of the entire Clan, disobeyed.

Why?

**Now then, I would have ended this after that huge chunk on what Scamp was feeling, but it would have been only 880 words! I can't have that! All my chapters are required to be at least 1000 words. So now it's 1100 at least.** **I'm just curious to see who thinks they know what Bluefern's response was… And it's not going to be the obvious answer, most likely. Remember: Read and Review!**

**Oh, if I get my three reviews for chapter 17, I will do something. Like…bring you guys some awesome cake. Who doesn't like cake? Well, some people don't like it, but I will bring you something! If you don't like cake, tell me! And besides, reviews motivate me to do more! You can probably tell I'm still hyper because of all the exclamation points! **

**(I just realized I made it summer…I meant to make it spring, but said Greenleaf instead. Oh well. I'll just write it off as one of the odd spring winter storms Colorado has been getting lately…)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh, you all make me so fuzzy inside! I PROMISE to tell you what Bluefern actually said to Crimson, and answer questions and stuff like that. I might start doing this, where I answer your questions. I dunno, I'll think about it. And guess what? I THINK I'LL MAKE YOU WAIT A CHAPTER! BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHA*cough* *cough*. Oof. OK, no more evil laughs. More chapter-ness. OH WAIT! *hands out doughnuts* Almost forgot… **

**A few shout-outs:**

**KatieK101- Thanks! I put myself down a lot over this story, so thank you for reminding me it's not too bad. And an answer to your question: Maybe. You'll find out later, when I feel like writing it.**

**Xelaric The Nobody- Why? BECAUSE HE CAN! Well, you'll soon find out what he really did say. I'm trying REALLY hard not to spoil anything… And to your review for the last chapter: Sorry about the Fuzzypaw/Fuzzypelt thing… I hope I didn't turn it into a Starkit's Prophecy for you! XD**

**And, thank you's to my faithful reviewers/readers. It's time you received that from me! So thank you all! I won't say I love you, because that would be weird. But I love you in the like way… NO! I SAID IT! Well, before I break down completely for saying that, on to the chapter!**

Chapter 18

Icewish lay in her moss nest, staring out into space. Blizzardstar was annoyed and upset to the point of madness. Icewish's ear now rung even more than they did before, but the ringing never went away. Mysticmist told her that the ringing should be gone in a few days. That was over a quarter-moon ago, and Icewish was afraid to tell Mysticmist, worried about what she might say. But she also feared what might happen if she didn't tell Mysticmist.

_What if I'm going deaf? I don't want to be deaf. I want to hear things._

Icewish got up from the comfort of her fresh moss nest, the moss new thanks to the apprentices. Icewish stretched out her back, and padded silently out of the warrior's den. Icewish took a deep breath, ready for anything that was about to come. With a little bit of newfound confidence, Icewish padded toward Mystimist's den.

It was now more quiet in SnowClan's camp, as the apprentices and their mentors could now go outside to Bushring to train. Icewish would have enjoyed it, if not for the constant ringing she kept hearing. Icewish began to worry even more, but now about what the rest of the Clan would think if she did go deaf.

But anticipation was normally worse than what would actually happen. Icewish tried to push those thoughts from her mind, and she walked into the medicine cat den.

"Icewish!" Mysticmist meowed, catching Whitepaw's attention. "What brings you here?"

"Well, you know that ringing I had in my ears?" Icewish mewed, looking down at the floor.

"Yes. What about it?"

"It… It isn't gone. It's still there, and it got louder."

Mysticmist stared at Icewish, who was still looking down at the floor. _Is she going deaf?_

Silverheart sat in the nursery, laying beside her two kits.

**(A/N: Well, since I just went from leaf-bare to Greenleaf, totally forgetting about newleaf, I figured Silverheart could have her kits now. Since it's been more than two moons…)**

Foxkit was curled up in a ball, snuggled close to his mother's stomach. Sunkit, however, had long since decided the rest of the cave was much more interesting.

Sunkit was peering into the various small caves in the back of the nursery, trying to find the 'monsters' that were inside them.

Silverheart smiled at this.

"You find any yet, sweetheart?" Silverheart purred, her voice carrying through the cave.

Sunkit turned to look at her mother. "Nothing yet mom. But I know they're here somewhere! StarClan told me so!"

Silverheart purred, and thought nothing of the comment about StarClan. Foxkit stirred, and opened his brown eyes. He yawned, and got up to stretch. Not feeling very adventurous, Foxkit plopped down next to Silverheart again, and got ready to take another nap. Silverheart purred once more, and licked the top of Foxkit's red-brown head. Foxkit moved one of his black paws to push away Silverheart's tongue, but then put it back down. His white chest rose and fell with the rhythm of his breathing, and Silverheart stopped licking.

"Sunkit!" Silverheart meowed, but still somewhat loud. "It's time to stop looking for those monsters. They will still be there tomorrow; I'll make sure of it."

Sunkit gave her mother a pleading look, but Silverheart did not give in. Sunkit sighed, and padded back to where her mother and Foxkit were laying. Sunkit collapsed next to Silverheart, now realizing how tired she really was. She yawned, and closed her eyes to sleep. Silverheart purred, and licked the top of Sunkit's head.

"Stop it mom!" Sunkit whined, protecting her head with her paw. Silverheart stopped, and curled around her kits. She closed her eyes, and sleep overcame her.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Nella cleaned her wet and muddy paws. Her golden fur had long since lost its shine, now covered in mud. Nella became annoyed with herself, wondering why she had ever turned down the offer to join SnowClan. _Why did I even leave? It was in the middle of a blizzard! _

Nella no longer knew where she was. She had felt lost for moons now, the blizzard having disorientated her. She looked around her, taking in the large, open expanse that lay to all sides of her.

_What did I do?_

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Icewish sat in the warrior's den, feeling weak. She had just found out she would actually go deaf, and there was no longer any hope to save any of her hearing. If there was, Mysticmist had never heard of it.

Icewish covered her head with her paws. _What happened? I never… I don't even know what I did! StarClan…why did I end up like this?_ An immense sadness weighed down on Icewish's shoulders, pushing her deeper into the dark pit she felt she was in. But had StarClan dug it for her? Or did she?

**You guys like it? Icewish losing her hearing was another one of my 'plot twists' that I will be doing for a while, to build up the mystery and 'want-to-know' surrounding Crimson, Bluefern, and Icewish. So… I kinda ruined Icewish's little surprise, but I didn't want to give away Bluefern's surprise **_**just **_**yet. Reviews would be appreciated! I guess you guys can guess what Bluefern's surprise is going to be, if you want. I'm just interested to see what people are thinking.**

**I originally planned to make it newleaf, as I said before, but I said Greenleaf. So, I decided Silverheart should have her kits. After all, it's nine weeks for cats, not nine months! So, her kits would be… two-ish moons? Sounds right. OK, I'm going to shut up now, and start chapter 19. Happy writing!**

**~Kono**


	19. Chapter 19

**Now then, I realized just recently that I've never talked about SnowClan's past too much. I shall now fill in the gaps for you…via Silverheart and her crazy kits. Enjoy the history lesson.**

Chapter 19

"Come on, mom! Tell us!" Sunkit begged. Foxkit simply sat staring at his mother, excitement showing in his eyes. Silverheart had found out that Foxkit was almost entirely mute. He hardly ever spoke, but rather let his eyes and actions do the talking for him.

"Alright. Blizzardstar told me this in Newleaf, just before you all were born. She said it would make a good story to tell you, and that it had come directly from Snowstar. Now, let's see if I can remember how this starts…"

**(A/N: Please note I am simply making up cats as I go here… And, yes. This does have to do with SkyClan. I don't remember details very well, so I'm sorry if some things are incorrect. Also… I'm trying to have Silverheart narrate this, so I'm bound to mess up quotation marks. Just saying.)**

Silverheart cleared her throat and began her tale.

"Long ago, when there were still five Clans in the far off forests, there was a Clan named SkyClan. SkyClan was forced to leave their home, since Twolegs had taken over their territory. Cloudstar, who was SkyClan's leader at that time, asked ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan to give up some territory for SkyClan. Of course, the four Clans did not give up their territory for SkyClan, and SkyClan had to leave the forest.

"When SkyClan broke up, there was a small group of cats that were very close and enjoyed Clan life. They moved up into the higher areas, far from where SkyClan used to live. One of those cats was a she-cat named Snowfeather. She was the strongest, mentally and physically, and led the eight cats that followed her into the mountains. A cold leaf-bare came upon them, and they had found these caves shortly before a blizzard blocked their way out.

"Snowfeather kept her eight followers in line, and taught them to catch the cave mice that lived in these caves. Their pelts soon turned white, due to the lack of sun."

"But mom," Sunkit mewed, "Wouldn't their pelts turn black like TigerClan's pelts did? When they got stripes and stuff?"

Silverheart purred to her kit. "SnowClan was different, Sunkit. Now, may I finish?"

Sunkit nodded eagerly, her brother, Foxkit, joining in too.

"Within a few moons, the snow blocking the entrance had melted, but all but four cats had died. The surviving cats were Snowfeather, Nettlepool, Silvercloud, and Frostsong. Now, Silvercloud and Nettlepool had this odd feeling they should head down the mountain, and into the forest below."

"LeafClan?" Foxkit mewed, tilting his head.

"Yes, LeafClan," Silverheart responded. She paused for a few moments, and continued. "But Silvercloud and Nettlepool told Snowfeather and Frostsong about this odd feeling, and the four traveled into the forest together.

"On the way, all four cats received a dream, the same dream. It was about accepting the stars, welcoming StarClan back into their lives. None of the cats knew what this meant at the time, however. So, they continued on, until they came upon LeafClan. LeafClan granted them access to the Moonstone, but Nettlepool was the first to use it.

"StarClan taught Nettlepool the way of the medicine cat, and she later became the first SnowClan medicine cat.

"Snowfeather went to the Moonstone next, but for what reason, she was unsure. She touched her nose to the Moonstone, and found herself in StarClan, with many other warriors sitting in ranks around her. The first cat to come forward was a tortoiseshell she-cat, by the name of Dapplestar. It was Dapplestar who gave Snowfeather her first life, and told her that she was to be the leader of a new Clan. The new Clan was to be called SnowClan, after Snowfeather.

"Dapplestar also told Snowfeather that this new Clan, instead of fighting against it's neighboring Clan, the two Clans would work together. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

"Snowfeather received her nine lives, and became Snowstar of SnowClan. Now known as SnowClan, Snowstar, Frostsong, Nettlepool, and Silvercloud headed back to the mountains. Snowstar had decided that the Clan would live there, as their true lives as SnowClan had begun there. Upon returning, Snowstar named Nettlepool as her medicine cat, Silvercloud, the only tom of the group, became Snowstar's deputy, and Frostsong was a warrior."

"Just like Blizzardstar!" Sunkit mewed, now elated for whatever reason. "Because Blizzardstar, Mysticmist, Icewish, and Bluefern were exactly like Snowstar, Nettlepool, Frostsong, and Silvercloud!"

Silverheart shushed Sunkit, and began to wrap up her tale of SnowClan's beginning.

**(A/N: Now you know why I called it SnowClan's Story, not SnowClan's beginning! OK, moving on now. We'll let Silverheart finish up here.)**

"Now, just as Blizzardstar and Bluefern did, Snowstar and Silvercloud visited Twolegplace to find new members for their Clan. Of course, it didn't always work out, but the Clan slowly grew. There was one cat in particular though, that hated SnowClan."

"Was it…" Sunkit mewed again, interrupting her mother yet again.

"No! You silly! Crimson hasn't been around that long! Anyway, will you let me finish?"

"Sorry mom."

"Well, this cat started a war against SnowClan, meaning to get rid of SnowClan. There was one battle that almost destroyed SnowClan, and that caused the original SnowClan's downfall. Blizzardstar and Snowstar both called it… Ah, what was it? Oh, yes! 'The Battle of the Twelve'. That was it.

"This battle involved fifteen cats, not twelve. The three others actually betrayed SnowClan and joined the other side. But, anyway, The Battle of the Twelve killed nearly every member of SnowClan, and cost Snowstar her second to last life."

"How did she lose all the others mom?"

"I'm not sure.

So, there was only one cat left on the other side, for SnowClan had fought hard. This cat, only known as Red, was able to sneak into SnowClan's camp and kill Snowstar.

"After Snowstar died, the Clan fell apart. No one wanted to continue on without Snowstar to guide them, and so they disbanded."

For once, Sunkit didn't make a comment.

"Well, there's your history lesson," Silverheart purred, breaking the silence. "I suppose it is an alright story."

Sunkit nodded in agreement, and Foxkit as well. Silverheart purred again, and closed her eyes to sleep.

"Mom? What are you doing?"

"Trying to sleep, and hoping a certain golden kit won't keep me up."

"Tell me another story. Please?" Sunkit begged.

"What I just told you was a long story, and it wore me out. It wasn't even a story, more like learning history, about your ancestors. Explore if you want, but I want some sleep."

Sunkit continued to fuss, but Silverheart did not reply. Sunkit eventually quieted down, and laid down next to her mother. Foxkit stayed up, and padded around the cave, investigating every nook and cranny he could find. Silverheart didn't mind. Foxkit was the one least likely to get into trouble.

**Great StarClan, why did that take so long? I guess this chapter was more of a history lesson, but I just felt I needed to give some history. I wanted to make SnowClan a bit more realistic by tying it in with the actual series a bit, and figured SkyClan was a great way to do that. I know that SkyClan was reformed in… Firestar's Quest (right?), but this would have happened right after the Clan separated. Snowfeather and her companions were just too far away to be found. Geez, next time I create a Clan I'm just going to say it was there, end of story. My brain hurts from trying to remember all this stuff! I mean, I haven't read a Warriors book in at least a year. So I borrowed **

**Anyway, I hope you still liked it, and hope it was a bit more interesting than your usual history lesson. I just wanted to really develop SnowClan more, and I hope you got the little hint I put in there…it's going to be important.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Well, I heard from someone (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) that they liked the shout-outs, so I shall do some more!**

_**Graymist the Great:**___**Well, I see you changed your username! Anyway, I do know about that, I just wanted to give some history for SnowClan connecting to SkyClan, since that was the only way I can think of other than some cats going "Hey! Let's build a Clan! Whatever that is!". Anyway, I totally forgot Snowfeather was your OC, and I'm sorry about that… I just don't know if I can change it anymore without completely re-writing the chapter. Sorry!**

_**KatieK101:**_** Aw, you make me feel bubbly with your reviews! :3 I'm glad you're catching on to my 'plot twists', but the big one is soon to come. At least it's big in the story, but it might not be a huge surprise to you anymore. And, don't worry, the romance is coming soon! I promise! Just don't get mad if I write it horribly… I am seriously horrible at romance. Sadly, that is a huge part of a Warriors book. I'll work on it…**

Chapter 20

The mountains quieted, wrapped in a layer of darkness. The bright white of the fallen snow dulled to a medium gray, and the green that shone through became a dark, deep green. The normal blue sky had long since disappeared, leaving the black sky in its place. Stars shone brightly overhead, the only light in the moonless sky.

Nella stumbled along in the darkness, unsure where she was going and still suffering from her leg injury. She ran headfirst into a rock, and mumbled a faint "Ow!". Shaking her head to clear her vision, Nella stumbled around the rock.

_Is this the way? I can't remember anymore… _

Nella longed to go back to SnowClan, wherever that was now. _A safe place to stay, a warm nest, someone to talk with…_

Instantly, Swiftfire popped into Nella's confused mind. The one thing that was clear out of everything anymore. Swiftfire. Nella longed to see him again, but refused to admit to herself that she had at least some feelings for him. _I wonder… I wonder if he's wondering where I am? Does he care about me too?_ _What if he doesn't care? _Questions swirled into Nella's mind, spinning, drowning her in their whirlpool…

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Bluefern? What's wrong? Something seems to be bothering you…" Icewish meowed, laying on the cold cave floor in Centerplace. Bluefern suddenly turned to her.

"What?" he snapped, anger evident in his voice. "Am I not doing something? Am I not good anymore?" he hissed, his eyes glaring.

Icewish's hearing may have been failing, but she heard Bluefern loud and clear. Mysticmist said she still had a day or so left before she completely lost her hearing. The ringing had become more intense overnight, drowning out all but the mildly loud to loud sounds.

Icewish looked up at Bluefern, shaking her head. "What happened to you?" Icewish asked, saddened by Bluefern's change in attitude. "You used to be… Caring, and…" Icewish paused, looking for the right word. "And understanding. You've changed. Ever since that stupid trip into Twolegplace." Icewish stood up to face Bluefern. Her tone changed, and now she was serious. "Tell me. What _really _happened behind that monster, on the other side? You wouldn't lie to Blizzardstar for nothing."

Bluefern hesitated, and the fire left his eyes. He wanted to tell her. He had lots of things he wanted to tell Icewish before she couldn't hear them anymore. He had to tell her now, or he would be too late. Bluefern tried to push the words out of his mouth, but they wouldn't come.

"Please…" Icewish begged, her voice cracking a bit. "Just tell me. Why won't you tell me?"

"I can't. I just can't." Bluefern looked down at the ground, no longer able to look Icewish in the eye.

"Bluefern? Why can't you? I care about you, and you can't push me aside! What happened?!"

Bluefern gave no response.

"Bluefern, look at me," Icewish whispered. Bluefern doubted she could even hear herself. Slowly, Bluefern picked his head up and looked at the she-cat.

"Look me in the eye and tell me nothing happened."

"I can't. Because something did happen."

"What? What happened? Now that I know, you have to tell me. I won't be able to hear it tomorrow, Bluefern."

Bluefern knew she was right, but couldn't bring himself to tell her that he had met with Crimson. _But she deserves to know…_

"Icewish, I-"

Icewish broke out screaming, interrupting Bluefern. Bluefern grew panicked, unsure what was paining Icewish. Mysticmist and Whitepaw came running, as did quite a few other cats in the Clan. Icewish continued to scream, and only three cats out of all SnowClan knew why.

Something must have popped in Icewish's ear, instantly causing hearing loss. At least, that was Mysticmist's guess.

Bluefern felt crushed. He never told her, and now she could never know. Icewish would never know that the Bluefern she had cared about had now vanished, disappearing. Bluefern had put up a mask a long time ago, and no one had thought better of it.

And that was exactly why Crimson cared too.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Crimson toyed with the skeleton of a fish, simply waiting for the day to pass. It felt odd, to not have to run around, or to have something to do. No, she had Bluefern now. It changed all her plans.

Of course, Crimson still had fifteen cats at her disposal, but now she had sixteen. An extra. Someone on the inside. Crimson now knew where SnowClan cats were going to be at sunhigh, and who was who. The only thing Crimson had to do was watch as SnowClan fell apart.

And hope that Bluefern could actually perform. Crimson stopped idly toying with the skeleton, her mind now focused as it usually was. A plan began to manifest in the dark recesses of Crimson's mind.

_Yes. A test of his loyalty. After all, if he truly loves her, love will only get in the way._

Without meaning to, a small grin began to appear on Crimson's face as she began to realize just how well this whole thing was going._ And yet, SnowClan suspects nothing. I suppose that history will repeat itself._

Crimson tried to remember what her mother told her about Red, her grandfather.

**(A/N: Sorry to interrupt here, I know it's all dramatic and stuff. Anyway, I never really thought about if cats call their ancestors grandfather or grea-grandmother or something. So, sorry if I messed that up.)**

_He did it once. I can do it a second time, and maybe these stupid cats will learn. I will just make it so horrible, that no Clan would ever come to this territory again._

Crimson's grin grew bigger, and she became quite proud of herself for having masterminded all of this. Of course, everything seems to have no flaws while you are planning. Crimson was aware of this, and that is why she drew on what Red had done to defeat SnowClan. That way, nothing could go wrong. History does tend to repeat itself.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Come on!" Nella yelled, most likely at herself. "Why can't you remember?!"

Nella ran, as fast as she could on three legs, into a forest. She turned to face a tree, and slammed her head into it. "Come on, Nella! Remember! Why can't you remember?"

Nella's sudden outburst startled a few birds, and they flew out from the mess of green leaves on the trees. Nella's chest heaved, and her muscles were taught with her anger.

Nella's anger slowly faded, and the softly thudded her head on the tree trunk yet again. Where anger was only a few minutes ago, there was now sadness. Nella picked up her injured leg again, and limped out of the forest.

Nella had recently realized why she couldn't find SnowClan again. Her memory seemed to have simply vanished, and she remembered hardly anything. Nothing about who she was in Twolegplace, where she had been a few days ago, what she had eaten a few hours ago. Only that she felt she had to get back to SnowClan, but for what reason she didn't know. Nella felt drawn there, as if some invisible force was pulling her in that direction. She followed, but was confused nonetheless.

As Nella started off again, she tried to think positively about her predicament. _It'll come back. It has to. Maybe it's just some stupid memory thing that will only last for a little bit, and that my memory will come back tomorrow._

**Oof. I tried to write a longer chapter, gave away a bunch of lovey dovey stuff… I think it was still a bit rushed, but I can't think of anything else to do with it, you know? I also think it's really gushy. But I'm picky. **

**Anyway, more plot twists! I'm having a lot of fun with this! I guess my goal is to confuddle you so much, you're going "What's next?". Is it working? A little? A lot? Hey, I like it either way! Now that school is out in two days, I will most likely be posting chapters pretty often.**

**I've been pondering doing a sequel to this story for a while now. What do you guys think? A second book? I'm open to title suggestions, and I keep going back to "Crimson Tides" for obvious reasons. I'm also going to invade FictionPress soon! I think! With my own account! YAY! Be happy for me. NAOW. **

**So, I hope you guys (and girls!) all have a nice week, and happy writing!**

**~Kono **


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Icewish sat on the cold floor, her fur blowing in the draft that had come through the caves. She shivered a little, but the cold was now bearable.

Most of SnowClan now had thick pelts to keep out the biting wind that came by often, and to keep them warm when it snowed. Some cat's pelts even started to turn white, to blend in with the abundant snow.

The cold seemed to nudge Icewish. _Come on, _it urged. _Come outside. Someone is waiting for you…_

Icewish snapped awake. Was the wind really talking to her? Icewish looked outside, into the pitch black night. A sliver of moon showed through the clouds, glowing a bright silver. Icewish sat up, still looking out the mouth of the cave. She began to feel too close to the walls, as if they were closing in on her. Panicked, Icewish began to back up, only to be met by another wall. Icewish tried to scrunch up against the wall behind her, trying to get away from the dark gray walls that came closer, closer…

Icewish opened her eyes, gasping for breath. _What was that all about? _

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Nella crunched over the snow covered ground, running to where she thought SnowClan was. _I need to get back! _Nella ran faster, now having mostly recovered from the injury to her leg. She still had a slight limp, but it was barely noticeable.

Nella was elated when the peaks of the mountains finally came into full view, showing she was close. Nella ran as fast as her paws could possibly carry her, pushing her body to it's limits. Her lungs burned for a full breath of air, and her muscles begged her to stop. Determined to get there before nightfall, Nella kept going.

The snow-covered mountains seemed to taunt her. So close, but still so far away. Anger burned inside Nella now, propelling her faster than she thought possible. But her mind was not focused on that now. The only thing that she could think of was that one burning goal: To see Swiftfire again. Nella longed for someone to talk to, anyone. After four moons of living alone in the wilderness, Nella had had enough. _Why did I leave? Stupid! Stupid! _Nella repeated to herself over and over again, fueling her anger.

The large forest that lay in front of SnowClan camp, but further out than the plains, now engulfed Nella. Low-hanging branches whipped Nella, green obscuring her vision. The forest cleared a bit, and Nella could see the yawning black mouth that led into SnowClan. Nella realized this, but now felt unable to go any further. She slowed, and collapsed out of exhaustion. Breathing hard, Nella's world went black as her body decided it had gone through too much.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Has anyone seen Bluefern? I can't find him!" Embersong whined, utterly confused and a little frightened.

No one in the Clan had seen Bluefern that morning, and no one had even heard him leave. Worried looks moved between the gathered cats, and Blizzardstar hopped up to Juttingrock.

"SnowClan," she meowed, trying to get all the cats to look at her. Once everyone's attention was firmly fixed on her, she continued.

"I know no one has seen Bluefern this morning, and no one knows where he is. I know he can fend for himself, but am still worried. I trust him enough though, to know he hasn't gone off to betray us. Also, another cat wishes to join SnowClan's ranks today. Scamp, come forward."

Scamp slowly came to the front, and looked up at Blizzardstar.

"I, Blizzardstar, leader of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cat. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Scamp, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Scamp, from this moment on you will be known as Snowleaf. StarClan honors your strength and compassion, and welcome you as a full member of SnowClan."

"Snowleaf! Snowleaf!" the cats cheered, congratulating their clanmate. Snowleaf was new to all the attention, and, nervous as he was, tried to seem as happy as everyone else. He happened to look up at Blizzardstar, and she gave him a slight nod. _She's going to tell them now._

"But that is not all I have to say about your new clanmate, Snowleaf," Blizzardstar said. "Snowleaf will also be here to tell us what Crimson is plotting now, as I am worried. She has been awfully quiet for quite a while, and I'm beginning to suspect something big is coming. SnowClan must be prepared, and Snowleaf shall help us. Snowleaf will act as if he has not come to us yet, and we must do the same. The idea is that Crimson will make him part of whatever it is she is doing, if there is anything at all. Therefore, he will not always be here until we are certain Crimson will no longer give us trouble."

Blizzardstar paused, looking down at the cats gathered beneath her. With nothing more to say, Blizzardstar dismissed the Clan.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Bluefern padded in circles, his mind being torn two ways. Crimson had said what he needed to do to truly be trusted by her. _Icewish. Out of everyone, it's Icewish. _

The circle became tighter and tighter as Bluefern struggled more and more with the decision. _Which one? Blizzardstar trusts me… But, Crimson, she… No! Blizzardstar helped me. But Crimson has so much more than a Clan… Wait. Why am I doing this? Isn't the trust Blizzardstar put in me enough? Why do I need Crimson?_

The circle abruptly stopped. Bluefern hesitated for a few seconds, but then headed off toward SnowClan, mind made up. _Wait. They will want to know why I was gone this whole time. I'll need an excuse. _

Wondering what he would say that would sound credible, Bluefern wandered into the thick, large forest in front of SnowClan. He trotted along, making his way through the low-laying branches that lined the forest. Bluefern's best guess was that the branches broke off due to the weight of the snow from the recent snow storms, or at least bent incredibly low.

An odd patch of gold stuck out in between the branches, and Bluefern started creeping toward it to see what it was. He climbed over a large branch, and jumped down to the snowy ground. He let out a small gasp when he saw that it was a cat. And not just any cat.

Nella, the cat that had disappeared around four moons ago.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Bluefern! Where have you been?" Blizzardstar asked, relieved that he was back.

"I'm sorry! I woke up this morning and… And I thought I saw something outside. So… I went outside to… To look. And I found her. Nella. She was passed out in the forest, I'm not sure why."

Blizzardstar sighed with relief. "At least you're alright."

Bluefern released the tension he had inside. _She believed it._ _I got this far. _

Bluefern tried to remain as normal as possible when anyone asked what had happened that whole time he was gone. He acted truly worried about Nella's well-being. None of it was able to get through the thick wall that had formed in Bluefern's brain. The wall that embodied the question _can I do it?_

Bluefern worked up the courage to tell himself he could. He could do it. Everything was planned out. All the little details, the what-ifs.

_Great StarClan, _Bluefern thought. _I'm getting to be so much like her already. What happened to me?_

**OK, yeah. That's all I can possibly do. (Long as I could make it Graymist! It's longer than the last one!) So… I might not be updating for another few days, just because I won't feel like writing. I just got power chains on my braces, and they HURT! I don't want to put my pain into my writing! I tend to do that. Write how I feel and stuff. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Read and review!**

**~Kono**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Nella's head throbbed. She groaned, and opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and Nella felt too disorientated to figure out where she was. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by a gentle nudge.

"You still need your rest."

Nella closed her eyes and collapsed into the moss nest. She put no thought into who it might be, only thinking about how much her head hurt. She groaned again, and blacked out.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"How is she?" Swiftfire asked.

"She's fine right now," Mysticmist meowed. "She still needs to rest. She must have been pretty exhausted."

Swiftfire sat down a little ways behind Mysticmist, looking at Nella. He was worried about her, and he hadn't seen her since the blizzard. Swiftfire had begun to wonder if Nella had even made it through the blizzard, but now she was here.

"Well, can you tell me when she wakes up?"

"Sure. It might be a while yet though."

With one last look at Nella, Swiftfire walked out. Hawkblaze was waiting for him, as they were supposed to be out on border patrol.

"Done?" Hawkblaze asked. "That took _forever_!"

Swiftfire looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Hawkblaze nudged him. "Oh, come on. I was just kidding. Now let's go walk around the boring border to make sure no foxes or something are here. Then you can go see her again."

Swiftfire flicked his tail with amusement.

"Quiet!" he meowed.

Hawkblaze and Swiftfire ran out into the bright sunlight outside, and began to climb down the cliff face. Hawkblaze made it down before Swiftfire did, and Swiftfire knew he would never hear the end of it. Sure enough, as soon as Swiftfire made it down, Hawkblaze began to boast.

"I came down _so _much faster than you did! Ha! You're _slow_. Bet you can't keep up with me!"

"Hawkblaze!" Swiftfire protested. However, the tom was already running off into the distance. Unable to do anything else, Swiftfire dashed after him, catching up quickly. Hawkblaze stared at him in disbelief, surprised that his friend had caught up so quickly.

"Well, Blizzardstar didn't name me swift for nothing!" Swiftfire said, wanting to rub something in Hawkblaze's face. It had the desired effect, and Hawkblaze gave Swiftfire an angry look. Hawkblaze ran faster, and Swiftfire matched his new pace. He received another annoyed look from Hawkblaze, but the two of them slowed down as they reached the border.

"Walking from here, I guess," Hawkblaze sighed. Swiftfire nodded in response.

"Wouldn't want to miss anything," Swiftfire replied. "Especially not with these fox problems and lack of food. If we miss a fox, that fox could eat what's left of the food. Don't want that."

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Crimson sat in an alley, licking her paw, wondering how her Twolegs could do this to her.

_Why, _she asked herself, _would they take away my claws? I never did anything, at least to them. So why would they care? I now have kits to take care of, and they mustn't know, or they'll take them from me. One of the many things I can't let them take anymore._

Crimson looked at where her claws would have been, having mixed emotions of hatred and sadness. Turning her look away from her paws, Crimson looked for her mate.

_He should be here by now. No reason not to be here. _

Crimson continued to wait, growing more concerned by the second. _Come on, where is he? Don't tell me something happened to him! _

Crimson now stood, her eyes scanning for the outline of a cat, any cat. Not seeing anything with the shadows around, Crimson gave up. She knew he would come. He _should _come. They were his kits, after all!

It was sunhigh before Crimson lost all hope that he was coming. She had waited for hours, and there was still no sign of him. Crimson stood again, and moved her eyes across the blackened alley, wondering if he had come in those few seconds it took to stand. Still not seeing any sign of him, Crimson turned the other way to continue down the alley.

Crimson was a few moons pregnant now. She could expect the kits in about a moon, and the simple thought of it made her a bit giddy. Crimson had never expected to be a mother, much less in a time like this. But with her claws now gone, what else could she do? Crimson would no longer be able to take part in the battle. However, her amazing ability to trick and persuade others never failed.

_They don't need to know that I don't have claws anymore. It shouldn't matter, if I can convince them to do something first. And it's not like I haven't seen cats killed with pure force before, rather than cuts from razor sharp claws._

The thought about claws made Crimson shiver. She still felt the pain, even though her Twolegs had 'de-clawed' her a while ago. Not wanting to think about the pain anymore, Crimson walked faster, moving into a trot. The trot turned into a full on run, and Crimson didn't dare stop herself.

For the first time in her life, Crimson truly felt fear. Fear of the pain. Fear of what might happen to her if others found out that she could no longer threaten them like she used to. What would they do then, if they knew?

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Bluefern shivered, even though he wasn't cold. Why could he be cold, anyway? He felt so empty inside, cold despite being warm. His emotions confused him, and scared him all the same. His mind still felt torn between Crimson and Blizzardstar, but his body seemed like it could care less. It took care of itself, as if nothing was happening and life was the same. It was no longer Bluefern's brain that controlled his body; it was his body that controlled him.

Incapable of taking care of himself, Bluefern's body had taken over. His body hunted for him, cleaned itself, ate when it needed to. All the things that Bluefern himself was no longer able to control. His mind had put up the sign saying it was busy long ago.

His body got up out of the comfy moss nest. No one stirred around him, and his body believed it to be safe to continue. It padded out of the warrior den, quiet enough so that Bluefern couldn't even hear it moving.

As usual, Icewish was laying out by the entrance. She shifted, and Bluefern's hollow shell stopped. When Icewish didn't look to see who it was, Bluefern continued.

His brain was committed now. It knew what had to be done. What it _wanted _to have done. It had made it's decision, and it's decision was Crimson.

Bluefern padded up behind Icewish, anger boiling inside him. Anger toward what, Bluefern wasn't sure, but he embraced it. Why not? He was going to kill Icewish either way. Why not use his anger to fuel the fire?

Bluefern took a deep breath, suddenly realizing he still wasn't ready. _No, _part of him protested. _You can't do this! You love her, and she cares about you. Crimson doesn't. She only wants you on her side for whatever she has planned. _

Despite the protests from the sane side of his brain, the one still untainted by Crimson's lies, the other side urged him on. _It's not shameful to be on the winning side. Do you want to be caught on the losing side? Do you want to die?_

_But why does Icewish have to die? She shouldn't have to, and doesn't have to. You don't have to do this, Bluefern. You don't have to kill her. All you have to do is walk away._

Just as Bluefern was ready to raise his paw and strike down Icewish, he heard a whispered 'no' from the medicine cat den. Instinctively, he turned to see who it was.

Standing just outside the den was Nella. Her amber eyes stared unbelievingly at Bluefern. She shook her head, still thinking that what she was seeing couldn't be happening.

"Bluefern," she mewed, "Don't do this. Please don't." Her voice was full of worry, for both Bluefern and Icewish.

Bluefern opened his mouth, and began to lower his paw. He meant to tell Nella that he wouldn't do this, but something else came out. Again, his body took over for his damaged brain.

"I will do it. You know I will," he hissed, his eyes turning to glare at Nella, who shrunk back in fear. He took a step forward, and Nella shrunk even closer to the wall.

"I will, and maybe I will kill you too. Who knows? I guess it depends, doesn't it?"

"You are getting to be so much like her, you know?" a voice sounded from behind Bluefern. His head swiveled around to see Swiftfire and Hawkblaze, standing close together.

Hawkblaze continued, "You and Crimson. You could pretty much be siblings now. I mean, you looked fully ready to kill Icewish and Nella."

"And there is no way," Swiftfire hissed, moving toward Bluefern, "That I am even going to let you _touch_ her." With a final hiss, he lunged at Bluefern.

The two toms grappled with each other, neither of them getting the upper hand. With a strong push, Swiftfire tackled Bluefern to the ground. Bluefern saw an opportunity, and lunged at Swiftfire's undefended neck.

Bluefern latched on to Swiftfire's neck, pulling at it with his teeth. Swiftfire screamed in pain, and both Hawkblaze and Nella joined the fight.

Outnumbered, and certain the whole Clan was awake now, Bluefern released Swiftfire, and ran to the now awake Icewish. He raised his paw, claws unsheathed, and brought it down on her head. Icewish screamed, but her body soon went limp and fell to the ground. Bluefern was disgusted with having her blood on his paws, but turned to face Nella, Hawkblaze, and Swiftfire once again.

"I _will _kill you all at some point. You just watch," he growled. He dashed out to the entrance, and hurriedly made his way down. He was long gone by the time the rest of the Clan came running, and were awake enough to register what had happened.

Blizzardstar was breathing hard as she looked at the scene before her. Icewish's head lay in a pool of blood, some of her blue-gray fur already tainted red. Her mouth was frozen open in a silent scream, deep red claw marks at the base of her skull.

The left side of Swiftfire's neck was drenched with his blood, and he was gasping for air. Mysticmist and Whitepaw were already tending to him, clearly worried.

"What happened here?" Blizzardstar yelled, finally swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.

Swiftfire turned to look at her, saying nothing. That look alone told Blizzardstar everything though. It was Bluefern. Or rather, it was Crimson _and _Bluefern.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Mysticmist, I can't believe this happened!" Blizzardstar meowed. "I trusted him, but it seems as though he never realized that."

"Blizzardstar, you know how persuasive Crimson can be. Snowleaf even told you. Bluefern probably wasn't thinking straight."

Blizzardstar hung her head. "I was thinking about the prophecy a bit ago."

"What about it?" Mysticmist asked, now interested.

"Well, there was that part about a storm piecing stuff together and all that. I don't remember it exactly, but there was something about a survivor."

"Yes, there was. Where are you going with this, Blizzardstar?"

"Icewish was our survivor. Who is it now?"

***Wipes forehead* Whew! That took a while. I checked it, and without these few words, it is about 1,900 words. Yay for me! I'm almost back to 2,000 word chapters! OK, I decided to write this while my mouth was still sore, because I realized it might do me a little good. Crawl out of the little shell I made and all… Kind helped me with Bluefern's part there. If his emotions and everything were confusing, that's what I meant to have happen. **

**And, tell me, who seriously believed that Crimson actually had feelings? Oh, I'm getting so insanely hyper about this story! I know I will finish it soon, and kind of have to. I mean, I wanted 30 chapters, and this is already 22! *Screams***

**Before I freak out at how little time I have, I give you all cake and brownies! Because I want to! Well, I hope you all have a nice week of waiting to see who the actual survivor is! (Oh, and yes, I totally forgot my prophecy. I have to go check that now.)**

**~Kono**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Mysticmist was exhausted. She had barely gotten any sleep last night, since she had stayed up. She was worried about the prophecy, and she hadn't thought about it in a while.

_Icewish was the survivor. But if it can't be her, then who is it? A lot of us have already 'survived', but it can't be all of us. _

Whitepaw sat and watched as Mysticmist paced the length of the cave, worrying about the prophecy. Whitepaw's head slowly moved to follow Mysticmist, but Whitepaw eventually turned to look at Swiftfire.

Swiftfire was still severely injured, and his neck had hardly healed, even though it had been a few days since Bluefern had betrayed them. His neck was still bleeding, just not as badly as before. Whitepaw and Mysticmist were both worried because of that, and there wasn't really anything else they could do. Swiftfire now suffered from frequent headaches, and Mysticmist figured it was caused by all the blood he had lost.

Nella and Hawkblaze both visited often, Nella more often than Hawkblaze. Slowly, Hawkblaze had stopped coming and began to keep more to himself. Nella came more and more often, and soon told Whitepaw that she was thinking of staying this time. During one of the few occasions that Swiftfire was fully awake, Nella had told him the same thing.

Mysticmist was pulled out of her trance-like state when Nella strode in, concern evident on her face.

Mysticmist spun around to look at her. "What is it? I can tell something's wrong."

"Hawkblaze. I think he's going crazy, and I don't know why!" Nella explained. "This morning, when he went out hunting, he apparently had a screaming fit. I don't know what going on anymore…"

Mysticmist risked a glance at Whitepaw before talking to Nella. Whitepaw had gotten that look from her mentor before, and knew what it meant. It meant she had something important to tell Blizzardstar, or even the whole Clan, but wanted to tell Whitepaw first. It was one of Mysticmist's various 'looks' that gave Whitepaw a sense of importance, excitement, and of being trusted. It also gave her the chills, because more recently, it wasn't something good.

Whitepaw patiently waited for Mysticmist to finish talking to Nella, and began to tend to Swiftfire again.

After a few more minutes, Nella left, leaving Mysticmist more worried than she was before.

Concerned for the she-cat she looked up to, Whitepaw asked, "What is it?"

Mysticmist seemed not to hear her question, but turned to look at Whitepaw.

"I think," she purred, "You are ready for your medicine cat name."

Whitepaw gasped, surprised and elated. "Really?"

Mysticmist purred again. "Yes. You are ready, and we shall leave for the Moonstone today. I will go tell Blizzardstar."

Whitepaw turned to look at Swiftfire. "What about Swiftfire? He's still injured, and-"

"It's alright. He's doing better now, and it won't take us too long."

Whitepaw puffed out her chest, proud of herself. _I'm finally going to have my medicine cat name!_

Eager to be off now, Whitepaw hurried along behind Mysticmist.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Whitepaw hadn't lost her energy even though the sun was now beginning to set. Mysticmist did her best to keep up with the hyper she-cat, but still fell behind.

"Come on Mysticmist! I want to get there soon!" Whitepaw meowed, practically bubbling with energy.

"We'll get there when we get there!" Mysticmist panted, thoroughly worn out. "Besides, we're almost there anyway. There's no use wearing ourselves out before the ceremony."

It wasn't long before Whitepaw and Mysticmist saw LeafClan's camp, and were greeted by a few cats. Mysticmist explained to Boulderstar that she needed to use the Moonstone, and that Whitepaw was going to get her medicine cat name.

Boulderstar gladly gave them permission, and Whitepaw pranced off, full of herself. Mysticmist padded along silently behind her, more out of habit than anything. Whitepaw dashed off to the Moonstone, with Mysticmist running along behind her.

Mysticmist walked in and saw Whitepaw eagerly pacing the room.

"Calm down," Mysticmist meowed. "Are you ready?"

Whitepaw nodded, and sat down.

"I, Mysticmist, medicine cat of SnowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons.

"Whitepaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Whitepaw, from this moment you will be known as Whiteclaw. StarClan honors your courage and compassion, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of SnowClan."

Mysticmist rested her muzzle on Whiteclaw's head, and Whiteclaw licked Mysticmist's shoulder.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

_**(A/N: This is taking place while Whiteclaw is having her ceremony!)**_

Tangleclaw waited for Wolfpaw's attention to go back to her.

"Wolfpaw?" she meowed, getting impatient. "You done looking at those bushes over there?"

Wolfpaw swiveled around to look at his mentor. "Sorry," he meowed. "What were we doing again?"

Tangleclaw sighed, and showed Wolfpaw the move again. Tangleclaw ducked, twisted around onto her back, and jumped back onto her paws.

"There. Now it's your turn."

Wolfpaw shifted his paws, looking a bit uncomfortable, but Tangleclaw was unsure why. Quickly, he ducked, and tried to twist onto his back, but lost his balance.

_That has never happened before! _Tangleclaw began to fret a bit. _What's bothering him so much? _

Tangleclaw knew that the entire Clan was uneasy after what happened with Icewish, Bluefern, and Swiftfire. It seemed like it had only happened minutes ago, when really it was at least two days after the…incident. Tangleclaw shook her head to focus on training again.

Blizzardstar had named Tangleclaw deputy soon after Swiftfire was taken into Mysticmist's den. Of course, Tangleclaw was surprised that Blizzardstar had chosen her for this, and didn't feel like she was ready. Oddly enough, Blizzardstar seemed to agree with her, but named her as deputy anyway. It was odd for Blizzardstar to doubt herself like that, and Tangleclaw was beginning to suspect that Crimson's mind tricks were working.

Tangleclaw continued to train Wolfpaw, as him becoming a warrior no longer seemed so far off. He needed to be ready, especially since Crimson might be planning something big. The way Tangleclaw had it figured, the longer Crimson stayed silent, the worse this whole situation would become.

On a brighter note, Nella had made up her mind about staying. She would become an apprentice tomorrow, if she doesn't disappear like she did last time. _I doubt she will,_ Tangleclaw thought, _especially with Swiftfire around. I know they're close, and Nella probably wouldn't leave him when he's like this. Unless they leave together, I think Nella's here to stay._

Tangleclaw pulled herself out of her thoughts again, and watched as Wolfpaw performed the move flawlessly. Tangleclaw nodded, satisfied, and moved on to another move. This one was more difficult, but Wolfpaw's ceremony was only a moon away and he needed to be ready. Having Crimson around just added more pressure.

Tangleclaw was about to demonstrate the move when Sapphirespirit and Tigerpaw padded over.

"Tangleclaw!" Sapphire meowed, greeting her friend. Tangleclaw purred in response.

"Well, I suppose that since we're both here, we might as well train together. What are we doing?" Sapphirespirit asked, coming up next to Tangleclaw.

"This!" Tangleclaw responded, rearing up to attack Sapphirespirit. Almost instantly, Sapphirespirit reacted by rearing up to meet Tangleclaw. Tangleclaw and Sapphirespirit struggled against each other for a few seconds before Sapphirespirit pushed Tangleclaw to the ground. On the other side of Bushring, Wolfpaw and Tigerpaw stared, unsure what they were doing.

Tangleclaw looked over and saw the two apprentice's confusion, and began to explain. "What that was is a move you can use when your opponent is weak. You rear up and bring your weight down on them, but they can try to do the same. If that happens, try to get them under you like Sapphirespirit did with me. But, you have to be careful if you do that, because they can use a belly rake on you. Likewise, if you're the one pinned, you can use a belly rake to get out of it. But we can do that later."

Wolfpaw and Tigerpaw nodded, now looking eager to get started. Without warning, Tigerpaw reared up to attack his brother. Wolfpaw didn't respond quickly enough and was pushed down by his brother. The two of them giggled, but Tangleclaw hissed to get their attention.

"That right there," Tangleclaw meowed, "Is an example of why you need to have fast reflexes. If that was another cat trying to kill you, I don't think you'd be giggling about it. Try it again now, but I want both of you trying as hard as you can to push each other over. Pretend you're not brothers for a moment, but that you're enemies."

Wolfpaw quickly attacked Tigerpaw, catching him off-guard. Tigerpaw hissed, and rose up to meet Wolfpaw. They struggled, and Wolfpaw was pushed to the ground, stirring up some light brown dirt as he hit the ground with a light _thud_.

Tigerpaw puffed out his chest, proud of himself. However, Wolfpaw pushed up, startling his brother.

"There you go!" Tangleclaw purred, surprised that Wolfpaw had used another move to get back up. Sapphirespirit gave Tangleclaw a glare, and it became a competition to see which apprentice could get the upper hand. It went back and forth between Tigerpaw and Wolfpaw, but in only a few minutes, they were both exhausted.

Both Sapphirespirit and Tangleclaw nodded approvingly.

"You both did great," Sapphirespirit mewed. "We can continue this tomorrow."

Panting, Wolfpaw nodded and padded off, Tangleclaw following close behind. Tigerpaw stood in Bushring for a few more moments, trying to catch his breath. Sapphirespirit waited for him, and they both walked back to camp together.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Blizzardstar was cleaning her paws, waiting for Tangleclaw to come back from training. Once she was done, she began to impatiently pace the room.

_Where is she? It's dark, and they shouldn't still be out._ Blizzardstar sighed, and sat in her moss nest, still waiting.

After what seemed like an enternity, Tangleclaw padded into Blizzardstar's den.

"You wanted to talk to me?" She asked.

"Yes, I did," Blizzardstar responded, standing. "It's about Crimson."

Tangleclaw tilted her head, curious where this was going. "Was is something Snowleaf told you?"

Blizzardstar nodded. "It seems we might be in better shape than I thought. Apprently, Crimson's Twolegs…" Blizzardstar paused, trying to remember the word Snowleaf used. "_De-clawed _her."

"What's that?" Tangleclaw asked, not having heard of this word before.

"Well, according to Snowleaf, the Twolegs stole Crimson's claws. She's completely defenseless now."

"Well, what should we do? They're not growing back, right?"

"As far as I know. Anyway, I was thinking we could send some cats to stop her before she follows through with whatever she's planning. She's been quiet too long, and I'm more worried with every day that passes."

Tangleclaw nodded, and turned to leave. Blizzardstar opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"What?" Tangleclaw meowed, noticing Blizzardstar's open mouth.

Blizzardstar shook her head. "Nothing. Nevermind."

Tangleclaw hesitated for a moment, but eventually jumped down out of Blizzardstar's den.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Talon padded through the thick forest, following Snowleaf.

"Are you sure?" He asked Snowleaf, who nodded in response.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. SnowClan tends to accept cats like you. After all, Blizzardstar would probably feel bad for you and give you a place in SnowClan anyway."

Talon shifted his feet uncomfortably. After a few seconds, he nodded, still looking down on the ground.

"Come on now, it's almost completely dark."

Snowleaf set off again, Talon following behind him. Talon was still uneasy about this, as there had been rumors going through Twolegplace about the Clan that lived up here.

_But how do I know Crimson didn't start those to get everyone on her side? It's hard to tell anymore, the way she can mess with your mind. The one thing I know is true is that she convinced her mate to kill another cat that he truly loved. I've never even seen him, but I heard that he's from SnowClan. He was the deputy or something._

But that wasn't what Talon was worried about. He was worried that if Crimson can get to cats even up here, what's to say she won't come get him for what he made her Twolegs do?

_He _took her claws.

**2,113 words. IT FEELS SO GOOD! Finally, a 2,000 word chapter. Well, what do you think? Will Crimson get to Talon? Oh, and also, I put this poll on my profile, for what kind of Fanfic I should do next. One of those is a sequel to SnowClan's Story, which is what I'm seriously considering right now. Well, I'll see how far I get in 30 chapters, then I'll make my decision. So please, go and vote! It's a blind poll, so I won't know until later. Anyway, review! I'm hoping for… three reviews for the next chapter. Good? Well, anyway, enjoy your day everyone!**

**~Kono**

**(2,222 words! LOL!)**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Talon, from this moment on you will be known as Wolftalon. StarClan honors your honesty and strength, and welcome you as a full member of SnowClan."

"Wolftalon! Wolftalon!"

Wolftalon beamed. Only yesterday, he felt he was going to regret this trip. He glanced at Snowleaf, but Snowleaf wasn't looking in his direction. He turned away, his attention going back to Blizzardstar.

Blizzardstar looked around, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Has anyone seen Nella?" she questioned, and everyone shook their heads.

_Where did she go this time_, Blizzardstar wondered. _Swiftfire is still-_

Blizzardstar's thoughts were interrupted by Mysticmist.

"Swiftfire is gone too. I'm not sure where they both went, but I'm almost certain they left together."

At this, Whiteclaw joined in. Shaking her head, she meowed, "And that's bad. He doesn't know how to heal himself, and Nella doesn't know how to work herbs either. Swiftfire's neck is still in bad shape. I'm worried he won't last long."

Blizzardstar looked down at the rock beneath her paws. _What are we going to do? I don't even have any idea where they went!_

However, an idea came to Blizzardstar. She looked out at her Clan again, and meowed, "We'll send out a search party. Is there anyone who would like to go?"

Only a few voices rang out. Glances were exchanged between cats, many thinking that if you were to go, you would die. A snowstorm was starting to blow in, and all of SnowClan was worried that it could get bad. Fast.

Blizzardstar looked for the few cats who had said they would go. She wasn't able to find anyone until Mistflower stood and said she would go. _It makes sense, _Blizzardstar told herself, _that she would want to go. I know her and Nella were close. _

"I'll go!" Sparrowtail meowed. He risked a glance at Mistflower, and Blizzardstar instantly knew why.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

The group of cats that ended up going were Wolftalon, Sparrowtail, Mistflower, and Sandshadow. Despite the protestations of Silverheart, Sandshadow had insisted he go.

It was sunhigh before the group finally set off. As expected, the snowstorm hit hard, making traveling difficult yet again. Quickly, the dirt beneath their paws turned to slush and mud. Wolftalon was having more difficulty, as his paws were not used to the rough terrain yet. Sparrowtail did his best to help Wolftalon navigate, but it was starting to get hard for every single one of them.

Attempting to lighten the mood a bit, Mistflower started a conversation with Sparrowtail.

"How is Hawkblaze?" she asked, practically shouting over the wind.

Sparrowtail didn't turn to look at her, but said, "He's not getting any better. If anything, he's gotten worse. Mysticmist and Whiteclaw have no idea what is happening to him. It's like he's gone insane!"

Mistflower gave Sparrowtail a solemn glance. _I wonder what's happened to him! He was fine… But then again, Bluefern's betrayal hit us all hard. Maybe it just hit him harder. I'm just surprised that Fuzzypelt hasn't shown even a little remorse _. _After all, Bluefern was his mentor! _

Mistflower pulled herself out of her thoughts, now focusing on not falling over the edge of the cliff. Normally, the cliff that was close to SnowClan's camp wouldn't be a problem to stay away from. However, in this weather, they had automatically drifted toward it to escape the barrage of snow and wind.

Mistflower shook her head to clear some snow off of her face, and looked back at the struggling Wolftalon and Sparrowtail. A sudden feeling of worry went through Mistflower's body, making her shiver.

"Are you alright?" she called out, receiving a nod from Sparrowtail. Mistflower looked ahead of her again, not wanting to fall herself.

Luckily, the storm began to die down before things got too dangerous. Wolftalon had an easier time now, and the group began to move away from the cliff edge.

"Watch out for the rocks here," Sandshadow warned Wolftalon. "They get pretty big, and you could trip on them. Be careful."

Wolftalon nodded to show he had heard. He looked down at the rocks, wincing slightly as one cut his paw. Wolftalon limped on, not wanting to complain. He winced again as a different rock shifted under his feet, twisting his other paw.

Wolftalon tripped, his other foot not wanting to touch the ground to support him. He fell on his side, and scrambled for a hold as he rolled over the edge. His eyes were open wide with fear as he struggled to pull himself over the edge, after grabbing hold of a sturdy little plant that hung over the cliff.

"Hold on!" Sparrowtail yelled, running to help Wolftalon. Sparrowtail leaned over the edge to grab a fatty part of Wolftalon's neck. He grabbed hold and tried to pull Wolftalon back onto solid land, his own feet scrambling to find a hold. Mistflower sprinted over, Sandshadow close behind her. They made an attempt to help, but couldn't find a way to.

At some point, Sparrowtail's claws found a purchase, and he began to pull Wolftalon up onto land again. It was then that the sturdy plant Wolftalon had been clinging to decided to give way.

Wolftalon plummeted over the edge, dragging Sparrowtail along with him. Both of them screamed as they fell, going too fast for Mistflower to help. She and Sandshadow watched helplessly as Sparrowtail and Wolftalon fell to their deaths. Mistflower was screaming Sparrowtail's and Wolftalon's names off the edge, still not wanting to believe that they would die. Sandshadow was also peering over the edge, simply staring in disbelief.

"Sparrowtail!" Mistflower screamed, her voice echoing. "Sparrowtail! No!"

Sandshadow padded over to the she-cat, brushing her cheek with his tail. Not knowing what else to do, and too sad to think, Mistflower turned and buried her face in Sandshadow's fur.

_And Wolftalon had just become a warrior… _Sandshadow thought to himself.

**(A/N: Yeah, I know. I just didn't have lots of plans for Wolftalon.)**

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Nella helped Swiftfire along, as he was a bit drowsy.

"You didn't have to come," Nella mewed, worried for Swiftfire.

Although Swiftfire's neck was still not completely healed, it had finally scabbed over and stopped bleeding. The wound was still bad, but wasn't showing any signs of infection yet. Swiftfire made an attempt to look at Nella, but winced when he went too far. He groaned, and looked the other way.

Nella felt horrible. _Why did I leave? Is my whole life going to be 'Oh, yeah, I'll join!' and then leaving the next day? Why do I do this? This time, I even dragged Swiftfire into it. He could die now, because of me! He can't die! I won't let it happen!_

"Let's stop here," Nella meowed, trying to hide the sadness she felt inside. She gestured to a spot under a tree where no snow had fallen, leaving the ground dry and solid. It was better than the mud, which was causing them to slip quite often, their weary bodies too tired to adjust.

By this point, they were quite far from SnowClan, almost back to where Nella had been stranded for many moons after the Great Blizzard, as SnowClan called it. Nella almost laughed at the name; it reminded her too much of Blizzardstar. Involuntarily, Nella snickered, getting Swiftfire's attention.

"What are you laughing about?" he grumbled.

"Oh, uh… Nothing. Nothing."

Swiftfire gave Nella a glare, thinking for whatever reason she was laughing at him. Eventually, he turned his body away from her, and went to lay down under the tree. Nella sighed, and followed him, relieved that they could finally stop to rest.

Then it hit her: _Where are we going, anyway?_

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Sunkit nudged Foxkit.

"Wake up!" she whined, eager to explore. "Mom's sleeping! We have a bunch of time to ourselves, and I'm _bored! _Come on, let's go already!"

Foxkit yawned, and only shifted closer to Silverheart. Silverheart moved a little, and Sunkit tensed. When Silverheart didn't wake up, Sunkit released the tension with a sigh, and went back to bugging Foxkit.

"Come on, sleepyhead! Why do you sleep so much? And do what you're supposed to? You're so boring!" Sunkit, now annoyed, head-butted Foxkit especially hard, finally waking him. However, this had the added effect of waking up Silverheart, as well.

"What in the name of StarClan are you doing, Sunkit?" Silverheart demanded.

Sunkit looked down at her paws in embarrassment. "Nothing."

Silverheart stood and stretched. "I know from experience that whenever you say 'nothing', it normally means you've been up to something. Don't lie to me."

Sunkit sighed, and looked at her mother. "I was trying to wake Foxkit, 'cuz he was being boring and sleeping."

Silverheart purred, and licked Sunkit. "Can't you find something to do?"

"No, because there's nothing to do here!"

"Well, have you explored all those caves back there yet?"

"No."

"What about seeing how far up those cracks go?"

Sunkit sighed. "No."

"Have you found your cave creatures yet?"

Sunkit's eyes gave away her excitement, and she darted off to the caves on the back wall.

"Well, there's something to do, huh?" Silverheart meowed, mainly to herself now that Sunkit was busy. Silverheart laid down again, curling herself around Foxkit, who snuggled closer to her body. Silverheart purred again, and with a last glance at Sunkit, went to sleep.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Sunkit risked a look at her mother, who was now fast asleep. Her tail swished with excitement, and she jumped down out of the small cave she was in. She giggled a little, and ran over to the wall she had seen her mother use to get in and out of the nursery before. She put her front paws on the rock, and tried to climb over the ledge.

She grunted a little bit with the effort, but continued to make her way out of the nursery.

_Now I see why SnowClan is so good at climbing! We've got this huge cliff to get into the nursery! My mom even tells me that to get into camp, you have to climb up a cliff! _

Of course, the fact about the 'climbing up a cliff' scared Sunkit a little, as she wanted to go out and explore. She didn't know if she could make it up and down a cliff if she was having a hard time with this ledge at the nursery!

Sunkit eventually made it over the ledge, and peered out into the large cave that was before her. Now more hyper and excited than before, Sunkit scrambled over the top and ran out into Centerplace.

"Woah! This place is huge!" Sunkit marveled, mouth gaping.

"And I believe you're supposed to be in the nursery," a voice meowed from somewhere to the right. Sunkit turned to find Embersong, who was looking at her with a knowing look.

"Aw, but it's so _boring _in there!" Sunkit meowed, trying to convince Embersong to let her explore.

"Ooh, you're so convincing. But still, your mother will be worried about you," Embersong responded, nudging Sunkit toward the nursery. "So you should get back before she finds out."

Not wanting to get in trouble, Sunkit dashed off again. With some help from Embersong, she quickly made it up the ledge, and down into the nursery. When she landed on the ground with a slight _thump_, Sunkit quickly looked at Silverheart. Luckily, she was a heavy sleeper.

Foxkit was awake now, but Sunkit knew he couldn't say anything. Nothing more than a few words, at least. _And a few words won't tell mom what happened. _

Now more interested in the caves at the back, Sunkit padded over to the back wall. As she went up on her back legs to peer into the cave, as she wasn't big enough to jump inside this one, Silverheart woke.

"Sunkit?"

"Right here, mom!" Sunkit mewed, still looking inside the cave.

"Oh, good. Foxkit just said 'gone', so I was wondering if he meant you. OK then, I think I'm up now. You two up for going out today? Embersong just told me it's one of those rare nice days out."

Sunkit almost sighed with relief, but didn't want her mom to find out she had almost gone outside already. She went back on all fours, and turned to look at her mother and Foxkit. Foxkit, as usual, was right beside Silverheart. The two kits glared at each other, but were certain to look away before their mom noticed.

Not wanting to seem suspicious, but wanting to go outside now anyway, Sunkit mewed, "Yeah! I wanna go out!"

Foxkit knew he was along for the ride now, and simply look away from his sister in annoyance. It's not like he could say 'No, I feel like staying inside today', or even tell his mom that Sunkit had already been outside for all he knew. He could only manage a few words at a time, and that was pushing it. Normally, it's one-word answers. _And no is a word, _he told himself.

"No," Foxkit finally said, shaking his head.

Silverheart turned to look at him. "Why?"

Foxkit looked at his sister, even gesturing with his tail. "Already."

Silverheart tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean, already?"

Foxkit looked at his mother, a bit annoyed. Again, he gestured toward Sunkit, who was now staring at him in horror. "Outside."

Finally making sense of what Foxkit was saying, Silverheart looked at Sunkit with a hurt expression.

"You left? While I was sleeping?" Silverheart asked, hurt slowly turning to anger. Unsure what to say to her mother, Sunkit simply nodded and lowered her gaze to the floor. However, Sunkit looked up at her brother, her head still pointing toward the floor.

_How could you, _she seemed to ask. And, out of everyone in the Clan, Foxkit knew how to interpret different looks. Foxkit looked away again, this time out of shame. Silverheart, not knowing that her kits were silently communicating with each other, began to scold Sunkit.

Foxkit got up and left, walking toward the small caves at the back. He let his stronger legs carry him up into the cave, where he squished into the back to hide from his sister. He curled up, still looking out at his mother and sister. He had an empty feeling inside, one that he had never felt before.

He had let his sister down. It hurt more than disobeying his mother, as he and Sunkit were much closer. They were opposites, and they balanced each other out. They were supposed to be a team, and Foxkit had decided to break that trust.

He looked away from the opening now, covering his eyes with his reddish-brown fur. Not finding enough fur to cover his eyes there, he curled tighter and hid from the world in the white fur on his chest.

**Yay! Chapter done! 2,477 words or something like that. Well, I don't really have any announcements, other than I will be closing the poll soon on my profile, so please vote if you haven't already! After that, I will probably hold another poll on what the title should be, if I have no ideas. That would be mostly for the sequel to this story, if I decide to do one. So, title suggestions are welcome! I would prefer one that has Crimson in the title, like Crimson Moon or something (that actually sounds neat.). Or something that has the name of one of Crimson's kits in the title. But I haven't named them yet, at least not in the story. Well, I think that's all I have to say. Happy writing!**

**~Kono**


	25. Chapter 25

**Now, before you all start screaming at me because I haven't updated in over a month, let me explain. *dodges random shoe* I said let me explain!**

**So, the main thing was that I was at the wedding for my piano teacher, which was about a week-long celebration. Mainly because she had… I think two different weddings, one was a full-on Catholic wedding (which took FOREVER), and the other was a more relaxed wedding. But we literally danced all night. **

**Then, to top it all off, my aunt is here, so I've been forced to help clean the house. Sigh… Well, I hope I've done enough complaining to convince you all that you can throw shoes and stuff at me another day… Sadly, since it's the Fourth of July for me AND my aunt is here, I've found little time to write. So, sadly, I can't give you a 5,000 word chapter for your wait, but I will try and make it up to you all and give you some cupcakes! Come on, who doesn't love cupcakes?**

**So, I will stop fussing over my problems, and let you read now! I hope you like it; it was kinda thrown together very quickly. I will see if I can take my laptop when we visit Pikes Peak later this week, so I can type up another chapter or two for you all, my faithful readers, who have stuck with me even after all this time!**

**(Also, I've been planning a sequel to this. When I decide to end this one, I will post a little notice that I have posted the sequel. Still no name yet, but I'm giving **_KatieK101 _**LOTS of credit for helping me out here. OK, now I'll shut up and let you read. ;D)**

Chapter 25

It was odd. There was no pain, though he knew there should be. His mind was dark, devoid of any thoughts.

Sparrowtail willed himself to open his eyes, or to move. His torn and bloodied body protested, not responding to anything he asked. Sparrowtail understood, but wouldn't just sit there and do nothing. Sparrowtail just pushed harder, and this time his body responded with searing pain that burned into every part of him. He was unable to cry out, only able to lay wherever he had fallen and bear the pain in silence.

To his surprise, his own body began to work again, without any of his prodding. His body tensed, the pain getting worse. Sparrowtail now wanted to open his eyes even more, just to see where he was. Did he fall all the way down the cliff? Curiosity overpowered the pain that had engulfed him, and his heavy eyelids opened.

Still unable to move his head, Sparrowtail could only see in front of him and a little to the sides. All around him, there were snow-dusted rocks, showing it had snowed since he had fallen, making the tom wonder how long he had been in this coma-like state. He could see the dark sky where the outcropping dropped off, a nearly full moon was close to the horizon, framed by dark gray clouds as they made their way across the sky.

A thought struck the injured brown tom. _What about Wolftalon?_ Sparrowtail faintly remembered the other tom falling as well, as he began to regain some form of consciousness. He groaned as he tried to pull himself into a standing position, but only managed to move his head. _Well, _he told himself, trying to stay positive, _it's a start. _

Now able to see more around him, Sparrowtail began to look for Wolftalon, if he was there at all. His yellow eyes, that were now a more dull yellow, searched for the other tom. Nothing came into view, so he decided to use his nose instead. Sniffing the air, Sparrowtail did his best to search for Wolftalon. A breeze came by, ruffling his matted fur. Sparrowtail let the wind carry more scents to him, now desperate to find Wolftalon. He wanted, no, _needed, _to know.

Unable to smell Wolftalon, Sparrowtail gave up, however badly he needed to know what happened to his missing clanmate. Exhausted now, he let his head fall back onto the rock under him. Without anything else to do, he stared off at the moon in the distance. The clouds had moved quite the distance, and the moon was no longer obscured. Silently, Sparrowtail wondered why StarClan had saved him and not Wolftalon.

Still wondering, Sparrowtail let his newfound consciousness slip away, darkness embracing him.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Foxkit stretched his tiny body, his eyes still closed. They snapped open when he noticed the warm body pressed against him. The golden fur of the other cat tickled his nose, and he held back a sneeze.

Instantly, Foxkit felt like what happened yesterday had been forgiven. He felt lighter, but still sore from the way he had slept. He got up to stretch his back, waking Sunkit as he did so.

"What are you doing?" Sunkit mumbled, still groggy. She shifted her body, and went to sleep again. Foxkit flicked his tail in amusement, and nudged Sunkit to wake her.

"What?" Sunkit mewed, sounding a bit annoyed. Foxkit simply kept nudging her until she was fully awake.

"Ok, ok, I'm up! What?" Sunkit asked, yawning.

Foxkit looked toward the exit of the small cave they were in, and darted off, silently daring Sunkit to come after him. Sunkit let out a little _mew _and ran after her sibling. Foxkit was already far ahead of her, his tiny paws moving quickly beneath him. Sunkit ran faster, wanting to catch up to him.

Silverheart lay in the middle of the room, oblivious to what was happening around her. That is, until Sunkit ran right into her.

"What in the name of StarClan is going on?" Silverheart meowed, her heart beating hard from the way she woke up.

"Sorry," Sunkit mewed, hiding behind Foxkit. "We were chasing each other."

Silverheart shook her head, but _mrrowed _in amusement. "That's fine; just try not to run into me next time."

Sunkit giggled, and jumped on top of Foxkit. "Gotcha!"

Foxkit rolled over, knocking off Sunkit. The golden she-kit took off, Foxkit right behind her. Silverheart watched, purring. After the two kits made their second lap around her, Silverheart yawned, and thought that it was safe to go to sleep again.

Sunkit was breathing hard, and her heart was pounding in her chest. She risked a look behind her to see how close Foxkit was, only to see he was practically on top of her. Making an attempt to escape him, Sunkit quickly changed direction.

How Foxkit seemed to know she would do that, Sunkit didn't know. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground with Foxkit on top of her.

"How did you know?" she panted, trying to catch her breath. Foxkit said nothing in response, and simply dashed away. Sunkit moved to a sitting position, breathing hard and looking at Foxkit.

"Sometimes," she meowed, barely above a whisper, "I wish you could talk."

Foxkit heard his sister, and he felt drowned in sadness. _Sometimes, _he thought, almost hoping Sunkit could hear him, _I wish I could too._

The two kits looked at each other, and eventually turned away. The game was over.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"It's your tail again."

Icepaw groaned, and stopped her swishing tail. Hunting was so much harder than she thought!

"OK, try again. Try to not move your tail," Blizzardstar meowed, moving the stick that they were using as 'prey'.

Icepaw sighed, and moved back to her starting position. She crouched down, and started slowly moving toward the stick. She was silent, despite the crust-like snow beneath her paws. The branches of the trees around her swayed slightly in the wind, but Icepaw paid no mind to it. The wind wasn't even cold anymore; not with her thick pelt.

Soon, Icepaw was within pouncing distance of the stick. She quickly glanced at her tail, to make sure it wasn't moving, and then readied herself for the pounce. Icepaw leapt on top of the skinny, short stick, catching the prey.

"There you go!" Blizzardstar purred. Icepaw's chest puffed out with her pride, even though she had successfully done this before.

"So what do we do now?" Icepaw mewed, wanting to do something. To let out some of the extra energy she had, Icepaw began to pace back and forth between two large trees.

"Well, there is the hunting patrol," Blizzardstar responded, watching Icepaw as she paced between the trees. "I know we are a part of it. We just have to wait until sunhigh."

Icepaw let out a groan; how could she wait that long? Sunhigh seems too far away! Too much time!

"Well," Icepaw began, "Why don't we do battle moves or something?"

"I guess we could. I _did _see Sapphirespirit and Tigerpaw out there before we left."

"Yeah! Let's go check!" Icepaw exclaimed, running off toward camp. Blizzardstar let out a _mrrow _of amusement, and, infected by Icepaw's energy, dashed off after her apprentice.

Blizzardstar caught up to Icepaw only once she stopped at Bushring. Sapphirespirit and Tigerpaw had apparently stopped for the time being; Tangleclaw and Wolfpaw were the ones there now.

"Blizzardstar! Icepaw!" Tangleclaw meowed, upon noticing the two she-cats. "Doing some more training before the hunting patrol goes out?"

Blizzardstar nodded, and followed Icepaw into Bushring.

"We were working on some defensive moves. Care to join us?" Tangleclaw offered.

"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Icepaw meowed, filled to the brim with excitement and pure energy. Blizzardstar shook her head, pleased, but let Icepaw train with Tangleclaw and her brother, Wolfpaw.

The day wore on, but Icepaw's vigor didn't wear off. However, much to Icepaw's delight, sunhigh soon came, and the hunting patrol set off.

The hunting patrol consisted of Blizzardstar, Icepaw, and Mistflower. Before they went far into the forest, Mistflower decided to strike up a conversation.

"It seems weird though," Mistflower mewed, "That we aren't still looking for Swiftfire. He went missing moons ago!"

The fact that it was moons ago was an exaggeration, but Blizzardstar knew she should be looking for the missing warrior.

Shaking her head, Blizzardstar meowed back, "I know. But I feel a bad snow coming, and I can't send out warriors to go looking for two cats that might be long gone."

Mistflower had a puzzled expression on her face. "Two?"

Blizzardstar looked at Mistflower in shock. "You don't remember Nella?"

"No, not really. Should I remember her?"

"She was about to become an apprentice, but she disappeared again. I wonder why she keeps putting off apprenticeship."

"Oh. I guess it's just been too long for me."

Blizzardstar couldn't believe it. _Mistflower remembers everything! How could she forget Nella? _

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

_One will fade from memory, another will fade from sight, the last will lose himself._

Mysticmist had been worrying too much about this prophecy, and she knew she was. But she couldn't help it. She had the feeling that it was coming true. So many cats had forgotten Nella, and Swiftfire was gone. Hawkblaze just wasn't himself. He seemed like an empty shell, like the Hawkblaze Mysticmist knew just… Wasn't there. And the next part of the prophecy had just happened.

_While traveling to restore the barrier, two cats shall fall into StarClan, leaving a survivor to find the answers, and a storm to piece them together._

_So is the barrier Swiftfire and Nella? _Mysticmist began to wonder. _Sparrowtail and Wolftalon had died when they fell off the cliff… But then, who is the survivor? No one had survived anything. Icewish is dead, Sparrowtail is dead, Wolftalon, Hawkblaze is practically gone… So who do we have left?_

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Sparrowtail opened his eyes to the heat and light of sunhigh. His head throbbed, but he forced himself to sit up. His throat was parched, and his stomach was complaining, begging for food. Sparrowtail so desperately wanted to give it food, and to give his throat water, but he couldn't. There was nothing.

Wait, there was. Snow! Snow could give him water!

Sparrowtail slowly bent his neck down to eat the snow closest to him. He opened his mouth, and bit a little of the powdery, cold snow. It melted quickly on his tongue, and the water glided down his throat. Sparrowtail ate another mouthful of the snow, letting it melt and swallowing it again.

Strength seemed to return to Sparrowtail's legs, and he got a few paws under him. He dragged himself forward, to a fresh patch of snow. He gratefully swallowed another mouthful of the cold, welcoming the wetness that came with it. Sparrowtail struggled with his hind legs, trying to get them underneath his body.

His right hind leg eventually complied, taking some of the weight off of Sparrowtail's now fragile shoulders. However, Sparrowtail's left leg refused to move. Curious as to why, the brown tom risked a look at it.

When he saw, Sparrowtail had to look away, gagging. Unable to help it, Sparrowtail vomited, losing all the water he had just drank. The leg had a fractured bone sticking out of his leg, and the rest of it was a complete mess. But to his surprise, the brown tom wasn't worried as much about the leg as he was about something else. The leg wouldn't heal without help from Mysticmist, and if the leg didn't heal, then…

_No! I'm not going to think like that._ Sparrowtail tried to encourage himself._ I'm going to get back up, and it's all going to be fine. Right? I can survive this. I will. I know it. StarClan saved me for a reason; I just have to figure out what it is._

Temporarily filled with hope, Sparrowtail located the cliff that he had fallen from. It was so far above him, almost a tree-length. Sparrowtail spotted another, albeit smaller, ledge about a third of the way up. The crippled tom faced the rock face, and with sheer determination, began to climb.


	26. Chapter 26

**I'm not going to even pretend there was an update schedule. But, to make up for it, I give you a 3,300 word chappie! I was very inspired when I was writing this, just because I actually have a leg injury right now, and have an idea of what Sparrowtail is probably feeling. It's probably also the fact that I was listening to Owl City the whole time I was writing this, and it's very inspiring music.**

**So, here are the cupcakes, as I promised! *Hands out cupcakes* Hope you like them! **

**Before I spoil the whole chapter out of the excitement I'm feeling right now, I will let you read! Remember, read and review! Happy writing and I will try to be more consistent with my updates for my lovely readers!**

**(Oh, and by the way, I guess **_Graymist _**should get some credit… :D She's the one who got me here in the first place, and plus she's an amazing friend. So, thank her for allowing this fic to exist in the first place! She's awesome! Then again, so are the rest of you who read this. Thank you all for the support! You make me feel so happy inside…)**

Chapter 26

_Stop! You have to stop! You can't go any further! No more! Just stop. You stop, and you won't have to feel the pain… The agony you're feeling now. It will all be gone. You just have to let go. It's so simple! Why won't you just do it? You know what it feels like now, but you don't have to feel it get worse. It'll only get worse. Just like everything else will. You will never reach the top, Sparrowtail. You'll never make it. You think the Clan even cares? No one has come looking for you. No one _will _come looking for you. _

Sparrowtail ignored his body. He knew it was wrong. He could go further. Things will only get better. He _will _reach the top. SnowClan does care.

Sparrowtail clenched his jaw, picked up one of his paws, and moved further up the cliff. His claws gripped the hard, unfeeling rock, supporting Sparrowtail as the tom progressed up the rock face. His muscles screamed at him, begging for him to stop. Determined, Sparrowtail kept going, his yellow eyes bright again, but wide with fear.

Squinting, the yellow eyes looked up the cliff, at the seemingly so far off top, where he could go back to SnowClan. Feeling a unexpected flash of hope, the tom looked back at his paws and pushed on.

_What if I don't make it? It seems so close, yet… I can't seem to reach it. If I don't, then…_

He stopped himself. What was he doing?

"Mousebrain," Sparrowtail muttered, scolding himself. He couldn't allow himself to think like that. He knew he could make it. If there was any cat that could climb up a cliff, it would be a SnowClan cat. Besides, this wasn't even the whole cliff! He would break it up; go a little further each day. Eventually, he would make it.

Sparrowtail's stomach grumbled, startling him. As he struggled to maintain his claw holds, Sparrowtail began to wonder where he would even get any food.

_I'm not sure how long I was down there, but I can't keep going like this. I need food. I can't keep going on just water and sleep._

Sparrowtail sighed, and continued upward. _Just make it to that ledge, _he told himself, making a mental goal. _Just make it to that ledge and you'll be fine. StarClan wouldn't save you just to watch you starve._

The exhausted tom pushed on, already having passed the point that his whole body burned. A freezing wind threatened to push him sideways, but Sparrowtail's claws held.

The ledge was so close now; only five tail-lengths or so above the tom. But, as if on cue, another problem presented itself. Sparrowtail could simply stare at the completely flat section ahead of him. There were no nooks or crannies that he could use, no softer rock that he could dig his claws into. Just flat, hard, rock that had decided to stop him.

Sparrowtail took a deep breath. He held it, and jumped. His strong legs gave him a boost up, and Sparrowtail reached out with his front paws, desperate to catch the ledge. He couldn't miss it now; if he did, he would plummet back down, and this time, he might actually die. The tom unsheathed his claws, ready to dig them into the outcropping. He stretched out his body, making himself as long as possible. The brown, thin form glided through the air, propelled by the power that was behind the jump.

His muscles rippled as his claws grabbed onto the rock, scratching the tan surface. A strong wind blew in, causing Sparrowtail to close his eyes as he pulled himself over the edge. His fur was being whipped around be the wind, almost like a mini whirlwind. Sparrowtail let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

The wind died down, and Sparrowtail opened his eyes again. He looked over the ledge, to where the trees met the rock of the mountain.

The tom's head tilted, noticing something new. A small bush had managed to grab hold on the rock, it's gnarled yet strong roots spiraling over the hard surface of the mountain.

_That wasn't there before. But why do I notice it now? _

A cloud moved over the sun, blocking out the light. Glad for the shade, Sparrowtail decided it was a good time to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He laid himself out on the still-warm rocks, thinking about how much it reminded him of Flatrocks. Same color, same feel…

Hawkblaze and Fuzzypelt popped into mind. Rather than pushing away the stray thoughts, Sparrowtail held on to them. He held them close, and closed his eyes, drifting off into the darkness of sleep.

But it was too _bright _to be dark. Opening one bright yellow eye, Sparrowtail looked around him. _It's the fields of StarClan! Did I die?_

A _mrrow _of amusement from behind him startled the tom. Sparrowtail whipped his head around to see a pure white she-cat, stars shining brightly in her fur. Bright blue eyes looked right at him, making Sparrowtail shift uncomfortably. Her fur continuously moved, as if there was some sort of wind constantly swirling around her.

"Sparrowtail," the she-cat meowed, her voice sounding oddly soft, despite the fact that she was right in front of Sparrowtail.

Unable to answer, Sparrowtail simply stared back, his eyes locking with the sky blue eyes of the she-cat.

The she-cat's tail flicked in a silent laugh, and Sparrowtail turned his head away in embarrassment.

"Well, you're oddly silent, aren't you?" the she-cat teased, sounding a bit louder now. All Sparrowtail could do was nod.

"Ah, well, I _can _tell you you're not dead. You made it over the ledge, and you're fine."

Sparrowtail continued to simply stare, feeling that he knew this she-cat. He was about to ask when he was interrupted.

"I can tell you think you know me. Your eyes are showing it all. I'm Snowstar, Sparrowtail."

Sparrowtail reacted with a small gasp, his eyes widening. Snowstar waited while he found words.

"But… Why are you here? Talking to me?"

"Sparrowtail, your head can be so thick," Snowstar joked. Her demeanor changed quickly afterwards though, her joking self was gone, replaced by a more serious Snowstar. "But I'm here on other matters. Do you remember the prophecy? Any of it?"

"Um… A little. Why?"

"I'm here to remind you. That bush is more important than you think it is, Sparrowtail. It's twisted, probably has been attacked by all that snow, animals no doubt, but it's still there, isn't it?"

Sparrowtail cocked his head, confused. _Why does StarClan have to be so cryptic? Can't she just tell me?_

"I can't just tell you, mainly because I don't know everything. I'm not confusing you on purpose. I'm trying to help you." Snowstar's eyes narrowed a bit.

Exasperated, Sparrowtail's eyes narrowed as well. _Great, and she reads my mind too. _

"I don't get this whole bush thing, and how does it even relate to the prophecy?"

"You'll figure it out, Sparrowtail. You may have a thick head, but you're smart."

Sparrowtail sighed, but the field was already fading, taking the former leader with it. Soon, Sparrowtail was back on the tan rocks. It was cold still, the sun not having warmed the rocks yet. Groaning, a now-rested brown tom tried to get to his feet.

Sparrowtail winced and shut his eyes as the pain came back with a force. His teeth ground together as he waited for it to subside. The burning pain didn't leave that easily though, and Sparrowtail knew he would just have to work around it.

His brown head shot a glance at the bush again. _I don't get it. It's a bush that managed to… _

Sparrowtail stopped, straightening up a little and looking out into the night. M_ousebrain! _He reprimanded himself. _Why didn't I see it before? The bush is a survivor. I am a survivor. The prophecy… It's about me, isn't it?_

Breathing harder than usual, Sparrowtail turned back toward the cliff. The top wasn't so far away anymore, and he figured he could make it. Steadying himself on his one good hind leg, Sparrowtail put his front two paws on the freezing tan wall before him. His eyes searched for paw holds that would be at least a little easier to get to. Finding a few, Sparrowtail began his ascent once again.

Overworked, his muscles threatened to give up. Sparrowtail kept going, knowing that if he did stop, he might not get going again. He took a deep breath, lifted a paw, and dug his claws deep into a small crack.

The chilling gust of wind returned, but a bit more calm this time. With it, a little bit of fog rolled in, surrounding Sparrowtail. He began to panic as it seemed to suffocate him, pushing him back down…

The injured tom rebelled against the fog, instead going up again. _Out! Out of the fog! _

The milky air seemed to follow him, but Sparrowtail pushed the thought out of his mind, thinking it might be from a lack of food. Panting, his brown body moved further and further, covering an amazing distance in little time. His injured leg hung behind the rest of his body, white bone still jutting out of the bloody mess. Despite this, Sparrowtail continued climbing in his odd way, two front paws up, right leg up. Front paws, back paw.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Icepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Icepelt. StarClan honors your courage and enthusiasm, and welcome you as a full member of SnowClan."

Blizzardstar rested her muzzle on Icepelt's head, and Icepelt licked her leader's shoulder.

"Icepelt! Icepelt! Icepelt!" the rest of the Clan cheered.

Icepelt could barely contain her excitement, and practically ran back to her brothers.

Wolfmask and Tigerleap had both gotten their warrior names a few days ago, which had discouraged Icepelt. She had wondered what she was doing wrong, to which Blizzardstar responded 'nothing'. Of course, that didn't help much.

_But it doesn't matter now. Here I am, a warrior. A warrior! _

Icepelt sat down beside Wolfmask, trying to keep her hyper self under wraps for now. Wolfmask shot a glance at his sister, and nudged her lightly. Her head quickly turned to glare at him, her blue eyes narrowing. She nudged him back, but a bit harder. Wolfmask was about to nudge her back when Blizzardstar caught his attention by calling Sunkit over to Juttingrock.

Icepelt whispered in his ear, "I think she's becoming an apprentice! Foxkit too!"

Wolfmask nodded back, still looking at Blizzardstar and Sunkit.

"Sunkit," Blizzardstar began, "You have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sunpaw. Your mentor will be Fuzzypelt. I hope Fuzzypelt will pass down all he knows onto you.

Fuzzypelt, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Bluefern, and have shown yourself to be strong and compassionate. You will be the mentor of Sunpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know onto Sunpaw."

Fuzzypelt and Sunpaw touched noses, and the Clan cheered on Sunpaw. Wolfmask had let out the breath he had been holding in since Bluefern's name was mentioned and cheered with the rest of the Clan. There was no doubt that every cat in Centerplace became a bit uneasy when Bluefern's name was said. After all, he _had _murdered Icewish.

When Sunpaw had gotten back to Silverheart, Blizzardstar called upon Sunpaw's near-mute brother Foxkit.

"Foxkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Foxpaw. Your mentor will be Snowleaf. I hope Snowleaf will pass down all he knows onto you.

Snowleaf, you are ready for an apprentice. You have shown yourself to be honest and courageous, and will be the mentor of Foxpaw. I expect you to pass on all you know to Foxpaw."

Snowleaf and Foxpaw also touched noses, SnowClan cheering to their left.

"Foxpaw! Foxpaw! Foxpaw!"

Foxpaw rushed back to his mother and Sunpaw, Snowleaf using the space Foxpaw created in the crowd to get to the back of the gathered cats.

Blizzardstar dismissed the Clan meeting, and jumped down from Juttingrock. Fuzzypelt was immediately overwhelmed by an incredibly hyper Sunpaw.

"This is going to be so neat! I mean, when can we start? Can we start now? As in, right _now_? Come on, please? _Please_! I want to do some training! I'll be good, I promise! I won't give you too much trouble, at least I won't _try_. My mom says I can be annoying sometimes. Am I? I don't think I am. What do you think? Am I annoying?"

Fuzzypelt let out a loud sigh and resisted the urge to scream 'Yes! You are incredibly annoying and need to shut up for once!'.

"I guess we could start…" the calico tom finally managed. At this, Sunpaw practically hit the ceiling with her jumping with excitement.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! This is going to be so fun!" Sunpaw mewed, her quick golden form already at the camp entrance. "Come on, you're so slow! Keep up!"

Blizzardstar padded up next to Fuzzypelt. "Well?"

Fuzzypelt stared at the small golden she-cat and sighed. "I don't think she needs any training. She can either annoy the enemy to death or jump and run around so much they all end up exhausted."

Blizzardstar chuckled at this. "Good luck. You're the only cat I know that can even keep up with her, much less keep her under control and train her at all."

Fuzzypelt turned his attention to Blizzardstar, his amber eyes giving her an 'are you serious?' look.

"Well, Fuzzypelt, have fun with your new apprentice. Not that I'm teasing you or anything."

Blizzardstar flicked her tail playfully across Fuzzypelt's muzzle as she trotted away, getting a _mrrow _of laughter from the tom. Fuzzypelt ran off to catch up to the long-gone Sunpaw, and Blizzardstar clambered into her den.

The she-cat moved quickly to her moss nest, curling up and sighing.

_No. No, you can't like him._ _You're the leader of SnowClan! You can't be distracted by some attr- _

Blizzardstar stopped her train of thought before she said 'attractive tom'. Groaning, she hid her head under her paws. _You did _not _just say that._

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"And why do you two want to stick around when I'm at my night vigil?"

"Well," Sunpaw mewed, dragging out the l's, acting as if she had to think about what to say. Being Sunpaw, of course she already knew what she wanted to say. She just had to be dramatic about it. "I want to practice for mine. Foxpaw has to come along just 'cuz."

"Practice for your _night vigil_?" Icepelt tried to hold back a _mrrow _of laughter. However, she couldn't stop the small chuckle that had escaped when she said 'night vigil'.

Sunpaw gave Icepelt a 'really?' look before responding. "Well, yeah! I mean, it's going to be hard to stay up all night. I need to get used to staying up so I can do it when I become a warrior!"

"Sunpaw, you have six moons at the very least. Why now?" Icepelt moved her head a little so that only one eye could be seen by Sunpaw, and proceeded to scrutinize the golden she-cat, looking at her up and down with that one eye.

"Wait a moment here," Icepelt finally announced, acting as if she had just made an amazing discovery. "Are you using this as an excuse to stay up? You _do _know that you are going to train in the morning, right?"

"Yeah. But what's to say I can't? I'm not going out of camp or anything, so I don't need any permission from anyone. So you can't really stop me…"

Icepelt snorted, still trying to hold back a full-blown laugh. "No, I guess I can't…"

"Ha!" Sunpaw meowed, tail held high.

All Foxpaw could do was stare at his sister, silently wondering if she had gone a bit crazy. He glanced at Icepelt, who nodded slowly, as if to say 'Yup, she's crazy.'.

"What are you two doing? Are you silently talking about me?" Sunpaw demanded, noticing the odd exchange that had just happened.

"No, nope. Not talking about you."

Foxpaw shook his head. _Nope!_

Sunpaw huffed and walked away, tail still held high. Icepelt and Foxpaw still sat just outside the entrance to SnowClan's camp, barely containing their laughter. Icepelt just shook her head, laughing on the inside, and turned back to face the setting sun.

Foxpaw eventually got up, tired of watching Icepelt stare out at the sunset. Sure it was nice, but there were better things to do. Like sleep.

The clicking of Foxpaw's claws on the stone snapped Icepelt out of her trance, and she turned to find her silent companion leaving. Sunpaw would come back any minute now, and there would be no relief from her constant chatting until morning. The white she-cat let out a small sigh. She would miss Foxpaw's company.

Icepelt looked back at the sunset, hypnotized by the colors and pure beauty she saw in it.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the chatty golden she-cat returned, telling Icepelt everything that she could have possibly missed within an hour or so. This mainly consisted of snippets of conversations that Sunpaw got while she was 'just passing by', or some argument, what all the cats were doing. Nothing really interesting.

"So, I heard Mysticmist and Whiteclaw talking, but I couldn't really hear what they were saying. I didn't want to walk in and interrupt them, or something. It makes me wonder what it was about. I mean, really, what do medicine cats talk about anyway? It's probably more boring than I think it is, and that would be _really _boring. Anyway, Blizzardstar hasn't come out of her den since sunhigh. I wonder why she's just sitting in there doing nothing. Maybe there's something interesting in there that she's messing with. I might go in there sometime and look around. I've always wondered what her den looked like anyway."

Icepelt's talk flicked in amusement. Even if Sunpaw's random chatting was unneeded, it could be entertaining to listen to at times.

Eventually, the apprentice's chatter died down into a comfortable silence between the two. The only sound was the wind whistling in their ears, the occasional shuffling, and clicking of claws on stone. Icepelt turned her attention to the clouds, seeing the dark color of them.

_I guess we're going to have some snow by tomorrow,_ Icepelt predicted. Quite a few SnowClan cats had picked up the ability to tell if it was going to snow, simply because patrols and training had to work around the hectic weather.

"Hey, Icepelt?"

Icepelt turned to look at Sunpaw.

"Um, can you see that shadow over there?"

Icepelt's eyes widened, and immediately started look for the mysterious shadow.

_Sunpaw, I guess you're good for more than chatting, _Icepelt thought as she found the shadow.

It looked like a cat, and it was coming up over the edge of the cliff. As it stopped, Icepelt noticed that one leg was sticking out behind the others, with some odd protrusion. Squinting, Icepelt could see that it was a brown cat with…

Icepelt broke her silence and yelled into the caves, "There's a cat! I think it's Sparrowtail!"


	27. Chapter 27

**Hi all! I will try to make this short… I'm kind of like Sunpaw. I talk too much. *clears throat* ANYWAY! **

**Sorry for not posting for a few weeks, my house has pretty much been converted into a hotel for all my relatives. My aunt on my dad's side was here last week, and now my aunt and uncle on my mom's side are here. I haven't had a lot of time to write, so I kinda sneaked this in when we were watching movies. I missed… Three? I think? Anyway, here is my 46 pages (at least on my doc) of amazing ideas I randomly came up with for you all, and don't forget to review! This is my longest chapter by far, so I hope you all like it!**

Chapter 27

The cream tom quickly took a look at his surroundings, searching for anything that moved. A small movement in a bush caught his attention, and he was about to speed off when he saw it was only a small squirrel, making it's way to a tree. Slowly, the tom lowered his cream body, which had splotches of medium brown, and stalked toward the squirrel. If anything, it would make for a quick meal before he had to be off again.

Sam's amber eyes still watched the squirrel, but occasionally darted elsewhere to make sure there was nothing else around. Of course, it could also be a _someone_. Silently, the tom crept forward, still on the lookout for the silent specters that could be hiding in the shadows. With a speedy pounce, the little creature was a snack for the starving cream-colored cat.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Speed it up, Foxpaw! You're falling behind!" Snowleaf called out behind him to the somewhat slow apprentice. The mute tom only nodded, then broke out into a run to catch up to Snowleaf and Embersong, who were patiently waiting for him. Panting, Foxpaw soon caught up to the two warriors, and they began to walk again.

It was about sunhigh, and Embersong, Snowleaf, and Foxpaw were going out on a hunting patrol before the predicted storm blew in. The omnipresent cold wind constantly reminded them of the time restrictions they had on this patrol, and the trio did the best they could. Most of the prey had already hid themselves away in various crannies, making it all the more difficult for the rushed cats.

Out of the corner of one of his brown eyes, Foxpaw saw the familiar shape of a rabbit. He nudged Snowleaf to let him know he had found something, and stalked off after the snowy rabbit. His small body lay low in the tall grass, moving ever so slowly toward the unsuspecting rabbit. Foxpaw's mouth watered at the thought of some food, his body telling him that he needed more, especially now that the temperature seemingly dropped in a matter of seconds.

He stopped a tail-length away from the prey, who still sat out in the open enjoying its last meal. Using his strong legs to propel him forward, Foxpaw leapt onto the snow-colored rabbit, who squealed in response. Unbeknownst to the young tom, this squeal had attracted something else that wanted that white hare just as much as he did.

Still walking, Embersong stopped to look behind her. She let out a small gasp, and nudged Snowleaf.

"Snowleaf? Where's Foxpaw?" Embersong mewed, worried about the mute tom who could call out to them to tell them where he was.

Snowleaf whirled around. "I… I don't know! He didn't nudge me or anything to tell me he was going off after any prey. Did you notice anything he might have gone off after?"

The she-cat shook her head. "No, nothing. I did smell a rabbit though, but I couldn't really tell. There was another scent, almost like-"

A loud growl interrupted the she-cat. The two warriors turned to face the direction from which the sound had come, and Embersong finished her sentence.

"Like a mountain lion," she breathed, barely audible. The two cats only stared, frozen in place as if the snow had already fallen and had them in an icy cold grip. A quiet scream was heard, and Embersong broke free. Being close with Silverheart and her kits, Embersong knew that Foxpaw could sometimes manage a few words, and recognized his voice instantly.

"That's Foxpaw!" the she-cat meowed, running toward where the supposed mountain lion was, not waiting for Snowleaf to follow.

As the orange she-cat disappeared into the dense brush of the forest, Snowleaf narrowed his bright green eyes. He flicked his tail, pleased with himself, turned the other direction, and walked calmly away from the screams of his apprentice and the gullible she-cat.

"Never thought it would be this easy," the calico tom muttered under his breath. "If they're all this mouse-brained, this'll be easier than I thought."

A _mrrow _escaped Snowleaf's mouth, showing he was entertained by the whole ordeal.

"And the best part is," Snowleaf continued, "None of them will even think it's me. Even Blizzardstar doesn't know I've been holding things back. But Crimson… Oh, she knows _everything_."

A sharp rock caught Snowleaf's attention, and he turned to look it over. _Might as well make this credible, _the calico tom thought. With a swift movement of his paw, Snowleaf cut open the bottom of his foot. He let out a small grunt of pain, and limped off.

"I was too injured to come after them… I wasn't fast enough. No, that doesn't sound right. Here we go: While I was running behind Embersong, I cut my paw on a rock. I tried to keep going, and by the time I got there, they were both dead and the mountain lion was gone." Snowleaf allowed himself a small grin, pleased he was clever enough to go through with this, and stopped to listen for any more screams. Hearing none, the tom turned back, hoping to find the bodies of the two he wanted gone.

Limping, the calico tom moved back to where he had last remembered Foxpaw nudging him, and looked out into the clearing. He saw the orange body of Embersong laying still in the grass, a small pool of blood having already formed around her. Wanting to see everything, Snowleaf shuffled closer.

Embersong's side was horribly damaged, a small part of her ribcage showing through her bloody orange pelt. _Wonder how Wolfmask, Tigerleap, and Icepelt will react to this… But, let's see how my unfortunate apprentice fared. _Snowleaf turned away from the she-cat, and looked for the reddish-brown fur of Foxpaw.

"There he is," Snowleaf whispered when he found Foxpaw's limp body. He had a few deep gashes, no more, but it had injured the unusually small tom more than it would have if he had been larger.

Satisfied, Snowleaf stumbled away, leaving the two cats behind.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Whiteclaw, I don't think I can do it anymore."

"Do what, Mysticmist?"

"Hawkblaze," Mysticmist sighed, glancing over at the orange-brown tom, who sat in his usual spot at the back of the medicine cat den, his eyes glassy and unblinking. Whiteclaw followed her gaze, staring a little too long at the tom.

"Whiteclaw?" Mysticmist meowed, lightly nudging Whiteclaw's shoulder. "Whiteclaw? Whiteclaw!"

Whiteclaw shook her head, breaking the trance. "Sorry, I just zoned out a little there."

Hoping to lighten the mood, Mysticmist joked with her apprentice. "Oh, Whiteclaw, don't tell me you're leaving already!"

The two she-cat shared a quick laugh before moving back to the topic of Hawkblaze.

"So, who is going to get him fresh-kill and help look after him?"

"I will," Whiteclaw answered abruptly, as well as a little fast. The instant response startled Mysticmist, and she hesitated for a few moments. Her mentor's hesitation made Whiteclaw wonder if Mysticmist didn't trust her with the tom.

"What? Do you not trust me?" Whiteclaw gasped, her mouth and eyes wide as she stood and looked at the blue she-cat, exasperated and a little scared. _She doesn't know that I like him… Does she? Even if she does, wouldn't that mean I would just take even better care of him? _

"What? No! Whiteclaw, of course I trust you! You're my apprentice, and SnowClan trusts the both of us with their lives when they get sick or injured. It's just that you responded so fast that I was at a loss for words for a little bit there. So, you wouldn't mind?"

Whiteclaw shook her head, relieved that Mysticmist didn't seem to know her secret. "Not at all!"

"Well then, that's one thing settled. Now then, let's check on Sparrowtail, shall we?"

Whiteclaw nodded, and trotted after the blue she-cat, coming to her side before they reached the back of the cave. Sparrowtail stirred as the two she-cats trotted over, cracking open one eye.

"Mysticmist, Whiteclaw," he managed, sitting up a little. "And how are you two today?"

"Even when you're half-asleep you still manage to joke?" Mysticmist purred, getting a weak response from Sparrowtail. "Well, I'm probably better than you are right now."

"Really? Oh, gee, I think I'm doing a _lot _better than you think I am," Sparrowtail countered, continuing the joke and deciding to be sarcastic as well.

Mysticmist snorted, watching as Whiteclaw sighed and walked off to get some burdock leaves. "Sparrowtail, I tend to know how bad you are." With a sigh, Mysticmist's joking manner faded. "But, let's make sure that your leg is healing. Whiteclaw?"

Mouth full, Whiteclaw ran over, not wanting to go through the trouble of talking. The she-cat finished chewing the leaves, and began to apply them to Sparrowtail's leg. Mysticmist watched, and, in silent approval of Whiteclaw's work, padded away. Her claws clicked on the gray stone beneath her, causing Whiteclaw to turn her head.

Realizing that Mysticmist was letting her take over, Whiteclaw raised her tail a little, proud that she met Mysticmist's somewhat high expectations. Sparrowtail had to clear his throat before Whiteclaw went back to treating him.

Sparrowtail yawned, and shifted a little so that he was more comfortable. He watched Whiteclaw as she worked; impressed that she knew her way around the cave so well. Eventually, Sparrowtail's neck began to ache from the odd position it was in from watching Whiteclaw, and Sparrowtail had to lay his head on the moss to rest it. He closed his eyes, but they were quickly opened again when Whiteclaw began to talk a little.

"You know," the she-cat began, "It's been a while since that hunting patrol left. The one with Snowleaf, Foxpaw, and Embersong? Well, Icepelt and her brothers are starting to worry, and even Sunpaw stopped her endless chatter for a little. I hope nothing bad happened… It's getting pretty bad out there, and they should be back by now. They knew they had little time before that storm blew in. Maybe they forgot?"

A shrug, then the she-cat continued. "I'm not super worried. Snowleaf is pretty good about watching out for Foxpaw, and Embersong should be able to help them back if they're still out there when it starts." Whiteclaw glanced over at Sparrowtail. "I'm not keeping you up with my pointless talk, am I?"

"Not at all."

"Good. Because I think Sunpaw is rubbing off on me."

Almost on cue, the little bundle of golden energy burst in, startling both cats. While turning to look at the apprentice, Whiteclaw had caught part of Sparrowtail's leg, causing a small 'ow!'.

"Sorry," Whiteclaw whispered, glancing at Sparrowtail before looking back at Sunpaw, who was impatiently awaiting their attention.

"And what is it that graces us with this visit?" Whiteclaw sighed, preparing herself for the chatter that would soon come from Sunpaw.

"Well, that storm started, you know, the really _bad _one that Tangleclaw thought was gunna come? Anyway, it started, and it's raining _really _bad out there. So, you know, of course I'm worried and everything, but… It's just that isn't it weird that it's raining? I mean, wasn't it supposed to snow?"

Whiteclaw and Sparrowtail glanced at each other, both holding back a laughing fit. _That _was the reason she came?

"Oh my StarClan! Did you guys almost laugh at me? That's _rude_! I mean, I'm right here. It's nicer when I'm not there to hear it. Anyway, it's raining and everything, and I just thought maybe StarClan was trying to tell us something. Because, like, it _never _rains here! It's always snow, snow, more snow, maybe some ice…whatever. Anyway. Back to my point."

Whiteclaw looked over at Sparrowtail again, with a look that said, 'this had a point in the first place?' Sunpaw glared at the two, but continued eventually.

"If you two would stop looking at each other and everything, maybe I could fin-" Sunpaw gasped. "Do you two like each other? As in, the _like like_ kind of like?" Sunpaw squealed with excitement as Whiteclaw and Sparrowtail attempted to deny this.

"Sunpaw, I'm a _medicine cat apprentice_. I can't do that sort of thing!"

"How could I like her? I mean, her and Blizzardstar look the same, so it's not like I like both of them or anything."

"That doesn't even make any sense, Sparrowtail."

"Well it's the best I could come up with right now!"

"Well, then that's pretty bad."

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry. Did I disappoint you?"

"Just a little."

"OK, just shut up! Just admit it, you two _like _each other!" Sunpaw teased, stretching the 'I' sound. Then, Sunpaw began to tease the she-cat and the tom in a sing-song voice.

"Whiteclaw likes Sparrowtail, Whiteclaw likes Sparrowtail, Whiteclaw likes-"

"Sunpaw!" Whiteclaw and Sparrowtail both protested.

"Can you just get on with it? You apparently had some sort of non-existent point that you meant to tell us about…"

"Hey!" Sunpaw hissed.

"Well, how about this," Whiteclaw suggested. "You stop teasing us and promise you won't go running around _claiming_," Whiteclaw was sure to put emphasis on 'claiming', "That Sparrowtail and I like each other, and _I'll _stop spreading the fact that you are a chatterbox."

Sunpaw gasped. "You didn't!"

Whiteclaw's tail flicked in silent laughter, completely forgetting the fact that three of her clanmates where still out in the storm that was getting worse the more time they spent talking.

"Fine! OK, Ok, I'll stop teasing you two. But did you really? Did you really say I'm a chatterbox?"

"Oh, yes, I _really _did."

Sunpaw's tail lashed back and forth, and the fuming apprentice started to talk again, but with a little of an edge to her voice.

"So, as I was saying, maybe StarClan is trying to tell us something? Like, maybe something bad happened or something and that's why they're not back yet."

Whiteclaw had let out her laughter a little before Sunpaw began her speech again, and now realized that the apprentice might have a point.

Grudgingly, Whiteclaw admitted this. "You might be right, Sunpaw. But do realize that sometimes it rains here."

The golden she-cat puffed out her chest and held her tail high, and the whole conversation about her being a chatterbox seemed to have been forgotten. Sunpaw's talkative absurdity returned.

"See? I was right! You guys should listen to me more often. I'm super smart when it comes to these things. So, we gunna go check it out? I mean, it's only getting worse. The quicker we go the quicker we find them!" Sunpaw held you the 'I' in 'find' to try and emphasize her point, but Whiteclaw was done with the jokes.

"Sunpaw, I can't go with you, and besides, the storm's letting out a little. Maybe we could wait it out…"

"No! Foxpaw would be dead by then!" Sunpaw whined, looking like she could've broken down in tears right then. With that, the apprentice turned and ran back out, Whiteclaw calling after her.

"Sunpaw, you can't go out there! Sunpaw!"

Sunpaw skidded a little, her claws sliding and creating deep gauges in the rock. She was so close to the entrance when gray and white fur blocked her path. Unable to stop, Sunpaw slid into Wolfmask's chest and bounced backward.

"Wolfmask! Let, me, through!" Sunpaw whined, trying to go around the bulky tom.

"Sunpaw, it's almost as bad as a blizzard out there! I can't let you- I mean, _you _can't let… Whatever! You can't go out there until it gets better."

Sunpaw tilted her head at the tom, who looked away sheepishly. Shaking her head, Sunpaw decided to use her mastery of speech to her advantage.

"Wolfmask," she purred, getting the tom's attention now, "I _need _to go out. My brother is out there, and he could be dead before the rain blows over. And besides, you could come with me." Sunpaw played up the part about him coming with her on purpose.

_Don't think I didn't notice you staring at me when I had my ceremony, Wolfmask. _

"Because then, if you come with me, I technically have permission from a _warrior _to leave. And then if something happens, we can help each other, right?"

Wolfmask's ears went forward, intrigued. _She wants me to go with her? _He groaned a little, having a conflict with himself.

"What's wrong?" Sunpaw questioned. And, without even wanting to, Wolfmask responded instantly.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! So… Uh… Yeah, let's go then."

Sunpaw bounced around a little, squealing. She dashed around to the right of Wolfmask, yelling for him to 'hurry it up' as she practically jumped off of the ledge. With a small sigh and slight hesitation, Wolfmask ran after her. Part of his brain told him this was the best thing to ever happen to him, and the other side saying he was a total mouse-brain for doing this. Wolfmask decided to side with the part that said this was the best thing ever.

"Come _on _Wolfmask! You're so slow!" Sunpaw called from the fields, with Wolfmask attempting to climb down as fast as he could.

"I'm trying! I don't climb as fast as you do!"

"Oh, I didn't climb."

"What?"

"I jumped. Now hurry, my paws are going to freeze already!"

Wolfmask grunted as he jumped off, landing with a resounding _thud_. He groaned a little as he felt the impact travel up through his paws, and move up into his shoulders. _Ow._ Looking up, he saw Sunpaw waiting for him, the fur that wasn't already wet blowing off to her right. _Her fur… She's so… Beautiful. _

Sunpaw's nagging calls brought the tom out of his trance. He shook the rain out of his fur and took off after the she-cat, who was already at least a tree-length ahead of him. _Sunpaw, you just never run out of energy, huh? I guess I'll just have to keep up with you._

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

_Wet. Why am I wet? It wasn't raining before…_

Foxpaw shifted, not wanting to open his eyes. His memory came back in patches, which annoyed him a little.

_Embersong. Embersong came after me… But where is Snowleaf? Why didn't he come? I told him I was going off to hunt. I nudged him… Did he… Did he just keep going? Did he know that the mountain lion was coming? Did Embersong? _

Now desperate for answers as well as shelter from the onslaught of rain, Foxpaw got to his feet. His body was covered in thick brown mud, obscuring the scratches that had long since scabbed over. Rain slowly washed it away, revealing the deep red marks on Foxpaw's left side. Of course, now they were more of a crimson color, which caused Foxpaw to shiver. It wasn't the rain or the cold, it was the simple color of the marks. Crimson.

It was then that something clicked for the drenched tom. _Snowleaf used to work for Crimson, right? What if… What if he never stopped working for her in the first place? What if he held things back from Blizzardstar so that we wouldn't be ready? And then he could go back to Crimson and tell her everything, and disguise it as something else. _

Frantic, Foxpaw's brown eyes searched for Embersong. A small patch of orange caught his eye, and Foxpaw rushed over.

"Embersong!" the tom managed, his feet splattering muddy water everywhere as he ran over to Embersong's limp body. He took in a deep breath when he saw the mess that used to have been Embersong. Looking away, Foxpaw tried not to retch at the sight.

Mud concealed some of the wounds, but the most noticeable injury was the one to the she-cat's ribcage. A broken bone protruded out of Embersong's side, and enough flesh was torn around that to show other sections of her ribs. Still, the sturdy she-cat's chest rose and fell, showing she was still alive.

Looking back at the orange warrior, Foxpaw whimpered a little. He dared not wake her now, thinking the pain might be too much for even Embersong to handle. Foxpaw looked around, looking for anything that might help. Sunpaw spent enough time bothering Mysticmist and Whiteclaw to know a thing or two about herbs. Besides, she was full of gossip, so he was bound to have heard something useful at some point. Luckily, Foxpaw had amazing memory, and one memory in particular seemed useful.

_Sunpaw was sitting at the fresh-kill pile, her mouth full of bluebird but still talking away._

"_So I was trying to tell Whiteclaw and Mysticmist about the whole thing with Tigerleap, Wolfmask, and I jumping off of that one huge tree – you know, the _really _big one, right by camp – and they just wouldn't listen! I mean, Whiteclaw was trying to get past me to get… Oh, what was it? Some willow tree bark or whatever for Sparrowtail. Something about inflammation and pain… Anyway, I wouldn't move until she listened to me. But I never knew that Whiteclaw was so strong! I mean, she just shoved me to the side, saying it was 'urgent' or something, and just still wouldn't listen to me! Then Mysticmist started grumbling about getting Hawkblaze some fresh-kill, and Whiteclaw kept saying she would do it, but then Icepelt walked in and she shut up. I wonder what's going on with those two? It's like they hate each other for some weird reason… Maybe I'll ask Icepelt one say about it."_

Foxpaw thought that was just some other gossip Sunpaw had overheard and decided to write a speech about, but it might be able to help him now.

Foxpaw knew that spider-webs were used for stopping bleeding, but he didn't see any nearby. So, the least he could do was make sure it wouldn't swell or hurt too much, right? Foxpaw looked in the general vicinity for any willow trees, since the only one he knew of was closer to Flatrocks, and Flatrocks was farther away than he cared to go right now. So, what was there that he could use? That was the only time Foxpaw remembered Sunpaw mentioning herbs, but there had to have been another time. This _was_ Sunpaw he was talking about, after all.

_Think… Come on, Sunpaw! Come through for me and Embersong! _Foxpaw began to pace, trying to stimulate his brain. A sharp pain in his side forced him to stop and collapse in a pool of murky water. He couldn't cry out in pain, and couldn't call for help. The best he could do was hope someone came out to look for them.

As much as he tried to keep his eyes open, Foxpaw's eyelids became heavy and eventually closed, suffocating him in the endless black. Soon, everything in the real world drifted away, and the last thing Foxpaw heard was someone – the voice was unfamiliar to him- calling out, asking if he was alright.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Sam ran over to the red-brown tom he had just seen collapse, asking over and over again if he was alright. As he expected, he got no answer.

The rain had turned to sleet now, some of it freezing on Sam's pelt despite the fact that it was no longer really cold. The biting wind had left soon after the rain started, but it was simply being wet that made Sam cold. As for the sleet freezing on his pelt, he supposed it was simply the altitude.

"Hey! You ok?" Sam asked again as he reached the small tom. Deep scratches appeared through the tom's fur, showing he had been in some sort of fight. The scratches seemed too large to have been caused by another cat, so Sam figured it would have been the mountain lion that lived in the vicinity.

Exhaling, Sam nudged the limp frame, trying to see if he could get the other cat awake again. Not able to, Sam decided to check on the other cat he had seen. The bright orange of the other cat's pelt stood out, acting almost like a beacon.

Sam bowed his head and pushed through the sleet, a few icy shards hitting him on their way to the ground. His creamy pelt was soaked and stained with mud, making him look more like he had more brown on his pelt than he really did.

When he reached the other cat, he had to try and hold in the squirrel he had eaten last. The cat was mutilated, with most of it's ribs showing through the torn flesh, with a broken rib jutting through one of the few patches of still-intact fur. Not able to hold it in anymore, Sam vomited up the remains of the squirrel, leaving his stomach empty.

_Hold on, isn't there some cats that live somewhere around here? Maybe a few of them will happen to be out here, or maybe I could try and find them to get help! _

Without any other ideas springing to mind, Sam began to call out for help, hoping someone would hear him.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Sunpaw and Wolfmask moved sluggishly through the forest, branches whipping them as they walked by, leaves that were torn from their trees smacking them as the sleet forced them to the ground. The sleet was the worst; pelting the two SnowClan cats with icy shards as well as chilling rain, most of it sticking to their pelts like the mud that clung to their paws and stomachs. Stubborn, Sunpaw refused to go back, and Wolfmask was along for the ride.

"Sunpaw, it's getting worse!" Wolfmask yelled over the noise, hoping Sunpaw would hear him and give up the search. He got no such response.

"I know it is! And that's why we have to find that patrol! They should have found their way back by now! What if they're hurt or something? They'd die before this sleet stops!"

Wolfmask sighed, now realizing that this _was _a mouse-brained idea. What did he expect? The storm letting up and everything going the way he wanted it to? And after all, this is Sunpaw. Nothing goes as expected with her around, except for the fact that there will certainly be plenty of gossip and one-sided conversations. And Wolfmask had started the domino chain, since Sunpaw didn't stop there.

"Tangleclaw said the storm might last a while anyway! If we wait it out, it might be tomorrow or something before we can go out and look! Blizzardstar would just say something like 'it's too dangerous' or whatever."

"That's because this is a mouse-brained idea, Sunpaw! If we don't find them and get back, we're dead too! And did you even think about how we are going to get them back if they're not awake, or can't walk?"

Sunpaw stopped in her tracks, and could only say three words. "No. I didn't."

Wolfmask waited, expecting more to come out of the she-cat. To his surprise, Sunpaw stopped there but kept walking. Now feeling guilty, Wolfmask walked up beside the golden apprentice.

"But we'll find them, and we'll find some way to get them back."

Sunpaw stopped and looked at Wolfmask, her amber eyes meeting his blue and brown eyes. Sunpaw had to look away, feeling a little disorientated by the different eye colors, but covered it up with some chatter. Wolfmask couldn't help but chuckle as the old Sunpaw returned, full of her endless, useless stories of who seemed to like who, or random updates on Sparrowtail, or what she caught Whiteclaw doing two moons ago.

"And what are you laughing about, Wolfmask?"

"Oh, nothing. I just saw a bush that looked like a bird."

Sunpaw slammed her body against Wolfmask's shoulder, knocking him off balance.

"Yeah, right! Everyone always laughs at me. I don't get it sometimes, because all the stuff I say isn't always funny! I mean, yeah, sometimes it is, but they shouldn't laugh at _me_! It's so rude! At least wait until I can't hear it or something, because then I don't feel bad. That way you can feel guilty about doing it behind my back, and then you'll come and apologize, and I'll just be like 'oh, it's fine!' and everything would be good. But, apparently, none of you can hold it! What's so funny about me anyway?"

Wolfmask snorted, unable to hold his silent laughter for any longer. While he was laughing, Sunpaw kept asking what was so funny, but the tom was unable to answer.

"OK, fine! Go and laugh about your stupid bush or something! See if I care!" Sunpaw turned her head to look the other way, and Wolfmask managed to calm down a little. All of a sudden, Sunpaw stopped again.

"What," Wolfmask meowed between laughs, "Is it this time?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Sunpaw turned her whole body to face the right, her ears trying to locate whatever it was she was hearing. "It sounds like someone calling for help or something! Come on, Wolfmask! We gotta go see who it is!"

"Wait, Sunpaw!" Wolfmask tried to say, but the she-cat was already long gone. "Great StarClan Sunpaw! I thought we were looking for your brother, not some random cat yelling at us!" With another sigh, Wolfmask ran after Sunpaw and deeper into the forest, knowing he couldn't stop her if he tried.

Sunpaw, a gold blur in the near-whiteout conditions, sped through the woods and sleet, constantly changing her course to find the cat she had heard. Wolfmask scrambled to follow the she-cat, who paid no mind to the tom behind her. Her paws struck the ground hard, leaving deep paw prints in the soft ground, mud squelching in response. Trees bowed to the wind, which had returned in force, stirring up any loose snow that had fallen and remained untouched by the rain. Clouds obscured the atmosphere, the light blue and dark gray both vying for control of the sky, the whole thing playing out like a game of tug-of-war. Sunpaw dared not admit to herself that this might not end well, both for her and the missing patrol. Staying as positive as she could with the worrisome surroundings, the golden she-cat ran on, her amber eyes looking forward and not straying, for fear of losing Wolfmask and herself in the frozen wasteland.

Eventually, a clearing came into view, and Sunpaw burst out into the unprotected area, gasping for breath as the full force of the storm hit her, the tall grass offering no refuge from the onslaught. Sunpaw struggled to fill her lungs with oxygen that seemed ever out of grasp, with the storm refusing to let up. Wolfmask was a little more cautious in his approach, turning his head away from the worst of the wind. Noticing Sunpaw's struggle, the gray and white tom stumbled over, attempting to block some of the wind with his massive bulk. The furious windstorm whipped Wolfmask's ears, threatening to rip them off if he protected the she-cat he loved much longer. Stubborn as only Wolfmask could be, the tom stood his ground, the storm calming a little as he did so.

"Good?" Wolfmask shouted over the howling squall, to which Sunpaw nodded.

"Good!" She shouted back. "Now let's find that cat I heard!"

Squinting her eyes to protect them, Sunpaw scanned the field, picking up little as she could only see about a fox-length in front of her. Wolfmask did the same, the two of them not making as much progress as they had hoped. Luckily, the other cat found them, despite the lack of visibility.

"Hey!" A voice shouted, quickly getting the attention of both SnowClan cats.

"Where are you? We can't see anything in this weather!" Sunpaw responded, wanting to find the stranger as soon as possible. Wolfmask said nothing, using his ears as well as he could since he was unable to use his sense of smell without getting blasted with snow.

"I'll come to you! Someone's pelt shows up pretty well!"

Sunpaw flicked her tail, amused, knowing it was her. "Sure!"

It was a few minutes until a disheveled and utterly soaked tom came into view, his creamy pelt barely visible despite the fact that he was almost right in front of Wolfmask and Sunpaw.

The other tom tried to speak, but the wind, which was now whistling in their ears, drowned out whatever he had said.

"What?!" Both Sunpaw and Wolfmask yelled, attempting to be heard over the storm.

The tom shook his head, motioning for them to follow him. Sunpaw and Wolfmask shared a quick glance, wondering if this could possibly be a trap, but followed the rapidly disappearing tom, running to catch up.

How the tom had managed to find his way around the field amazed Sunpaw and Wolfmask both, but Sunpaw ended up brushing it off, thinking maybe he had simply been here before. The muddy tom looked over his shoulder to make sure his followers were still there, and kept moving almost at a diagonal across the clearing so as to block the worst of the storm with his side. Sunpaw let out an involuntary gasp when two bodies came into view, one of which she instantly recognized as Foxpaw.

"Foxpaw!" She screamed, forgetting her strategy to avoid the wind and rushing over to the body of her brother. Some snow had gathered on his red-brown pelt, which, with the added element of rain, had frozen to form a thick, icy armor. Sunpaw nudged her brother's cold body, licking his muzzle to try and wake him up. Wolfmask and the tom came up behind her, Wolfmask instantly springing to help the distraught Sunpaw, who was feverishly licking snow, ice, and cold off of her brother.

"Come on, Foxpaw… Come on!" Sunpaw cried, willing Foxpaw to open his eyes. She began to whimper when nothing happened, and began to lick the remainder of ice off of his fur. In the middle of a lick, the she-cat looked up to find one of Foxpaw's tiny black paws moving slightly, and was promptly convinced it wasn't the wind.

"Foxpaw! Oh, Foxpaw, thank StarClan you're OK!" Sunpaw mewed, licking behind Foxpaw's ears as he slowly came to.

Foxpaw turned his brown eyes to look at his sister, as if to ask, 'what's going on? What happened?'. Sunpaw easily turned this answer into a speech, but the young tom didn't mind. It was his sister, and that was all he cared about. Even if she was a little long-winded.

"So, this storm started and everything," Sunpaw began, with Wolfmask rolling his eyes behind her. "And I noticed that your patrol didn't come back yet. Of course I started worrying, because you all knew that it was gunna come in the first place – you did know, right? – so I just knew that you wouldn't stay out when it was really bad. Then I got this _really _bad feeling about it, because it hardly _ever _rains up here, much less in a storm like this. So I started thinking StarClan was trying to tell me-" Sunpaw cleared her throat. "I mean, _us,_ something. So I asked Wolfmask to come with me since I can't go out by myself, being an apprentice and all, and we went out to look for you guys!"

Foxpaw laughed inwardly that Sunpaw could still find the time to lengthen a simple answer. Wolfmask and the other tom had already left before Sunpaw had even gotten to her third sentence, with Wolfmask quickly explaining that Sunpaw could ramble. Foxpaw made an attempt to stand, only to find that his legs had fallen asleep due to the time he had been laying there. Sunpaw sat and waited for him, though her impatience showed in her eyes. Eventually, the red-brown tom got to his feet, with a little support from Sunpaw. Foxpaw limped for the first few steps as his legs gradually woke back up again, and Sunpaw led him to where she had seen Wolfmask and the other tom go, supposedly to find Embersong.

It seemed as if StarClan had caused the storm to die down a little, as it was now only snowing lightly. The delicate flakes floated downward, hitting the ground and melting quickly into the pools of muddy water that had formed. The previously hurricane-like winds had now died down to a gentle breeze, but it was still cold enough to cause all the cats to shiver, their wet pelts making it worse.

With the better visibility, Foxpaw was able to find Wolfmask and the strange tom without Sunpaw's help. Foxpaw was already expecting the sight of Embersong, but Sunpaw hadn't been. The she-cat managed to hold in what was in her stomach, but had to take quite a few large gulps of air to calm herself. All the SnowClan cats present were close with the wounded Embersong, Wolfmask the most. He seemed frozen in place, only able to stare at the gory wounds the mountain lion had inflicted. Foxpaw managed a small whimper, Sunpaw joining him.

"You know," the tom meowed, looking at his three companions, "I heard there was a Clan that lived up here. You think they would help?"

"Of course they would help," Sunpaw sneered, forgetting that this tom wasn't a clanmate, "Embersong is _in _SnowClan! So are we."

The tom stammered a little, unsure what to say to that. "Uh… I-I didn't know she was, you know, in the Clan."

Ashamed, Sunpaw bowed her head a little. "No, sorry. I forgot you aren't in the Clan. My bad… Well, could you help us get her back to SnowClan? It's up there, and it's kind of far." Sunpaw used her tail to gesture to the first peak of SnowClan's home mountain.

"Sure, I guess. I don't really have anywhere else to be. I'm Sam, by the way."

"Sunpaw, and this is my brother, Foxpaw. That's Wolfmask, in case you didn't know." Sunpaw nodded at each of the cats she mentioned in turn, before standing to shake the wet out of her fur. "Now we should get going, in case the weather changes again because we waited too long or something."

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

Whiteclaw absentmindedly batted a piece of willow bark between her paws, her mind having wandered elsewhere. Due to this, the she-cat didn't notice when a blue she-cat padded silently in, watching her intently.

"Are you playing with the herbs?"

Whiteclaw, startled, dropped the willow bark and almost crushed it as she stood. "Uh, Mysticmist! You startled me!" Whiteclaw looked at the out-of-place piece of bark that lay rocking back and forth in the middle of the cave. "And yeah, I was."

"Well," Mysticmist purred, picking up the bark and putting it back where it should be. "At least you're honest."

Whiteclaw glanced over her shoulder to look at Hawkblaze. She could take him out now, since the storm pretty much stopped.

"Hey, um, Mysticmist?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind if I take Hawkblaze out?"

"Course not! He's your responsibility now, you volunteered."

Trying to keep herself from squealing with glee, Whiteclaw trotted over to the tom, whose only reaction to her coming was a flick of his ear.

"Hawkblaze. Hawkblaze, we're going out. Come on," Whiteclaw whispered, nudging him lightly. At this, Hawkblaze turned to look at her, slowly standing. Whiteclaw set a somewhat slow pace, looking over her right shoulder to make sure Hawkblaze wasn't falling behind.

Whiteclaw wasn't even sure _why _she felt something for Hawkblaze. He just seemed too far gone to come back, but there was something in Whiteclaw that said he would come back. Eventually. If only she could-

"Whiteclaw! Hold on a second! Get back here!"

Wincing, Whiteclaw slowly spun around to head back to the medicine cat den.

"Every time… When something starts to go well, _something _else has to happen…" Whiteclaw muttered, brushing past Hawkblaze as he watched her pass.

"Whiteclaw!"

"I'm coming!" Whiteclaw sighed, annoyed, but trying her hardest not to show it.

"Well, come faster!"

Somehow, in her random trance of going out with Hawkblaze, Whiteclaw had missed the arrival of Sam, Sunpaw, Foxpaw, Wolfmask, and a severely injured Embersong. Something kicked into overdrive, and Whiteclaw broke out into a run, Hawkblaze still watching from near the fresh-kill pile.

"What in the name of StarClan happened?!" Whiteclaw screamed, upon noticing how badly Embersong was injured.

"Mountain lion attack," Sunpaw mewed, trying not to lengthen her answer, knowing time was critical. No one knew exactly how long she was out there, and therefore, no one knew how much time there was before her body would give out.

Mysticmist scrambled through the herbs, shouting out random things at Whiteclaw as she rushed as fast as a cat could go. Whiteclaw, used to the rushed atmosphere that formed when a cat was injured like this, took it calmly, despite the fact that Mysticmist was practically screaming her head off.

"Oh, and that looks infected. And of course I can't find the burdock! Oh, there it is. Whiteclaw! Come on, work with me here! Here, take this. OK, chew it first!"

"I know to chew it first…"

"Cobwebs, cobwebs, cobwebs… Are we out or something? I can't- Oh, thank you Whiteclaw."

Whiteclaw was almost laughing at Mysticmist's reaction, but this wasn't the right time. Whiteclaw applied the cobwebs, making sure the bleeding stopped. Groaning, Whiteclaw realized that with each breath Embersong took, the wound opened up again, pushing past the cobwebs. Shaking her head, Whiteclaw decided she could worry about that later, as the bleeding wasn't as bad anymore. Whiteclaw chewed the burdock root Mysticmist had given her – or rather, had her find – and applied it to the gaping wound to Embersong's chest. Sunpaw began to rattle about a pain in Foxpaw's side he had told her about, and Mysticmist took over for Whiteclaw for a little so she could take care of Foxpaw's injuries.

With a deep breath, Whiteclaw calmed herself a little. She couldn't let this get out of hand. Even Mysticmist had managed to calm herself, and the two worked in a somewhat comfortable silence. Whiteclaw gave Foxpaw a few ash seeds to help with the pain in his side before taking a look at the scars.

"Well, it doesn't look like they're bleeding anymore," Whiteclaw muttered, working out what she had to do out loud. "So we won't need any cobwebs."

"So… What will you do then?" Sunpaw mewed, unable to hold her silence any longer.

With a sigh, Whiteclaw meowed back, "I think I'll use some alder, just to make sure this swelling doesn't get any worse and that it won't get infected."

"Oh, ok. Can I do anything? Because it's getting kind of boring, just sitting here and everything," Sunpaw asked, shifting a little so as to get rid of her extra energy.

"Sunpaw…"

"Yeah?"

"Be quiet. Please."

"I _was _being quiet."

"So please keep being quiet. Ok?"

"Oh… Uh, sure."

"Thank you."

Sunpaw lifted her two front paws one after the other, bored out of her mind. It wasn't long before that stopped helping, so the she-cat stood, announcing she was going to go out. No one paid her any mind, being occupied with other things, so the apprentice simply trotted out into Centerplace.

Sunpaw was barely out of the medicine cat den when she was practically trampled by Icepelt and Tigerleap, who had apparently just heard the news about their mother.

"Sunpaw!" Icepelt breathed, tired from her sprint. "Did you see her? How is she?"

Not wanting to worry Icepelt more than she was, Sunpaw told her, "Embersong? She's fine now. Mysticmist and Whiteclaw are taking care of her." There. It wasn't a complete lie.

"But how badly is she hurt?"

Sunpaw winced a little, realizing that she would have to tell Icepelt exactly what happened. For once, the she-cat decided to keep it concise, knowing this wasn't a good time to talk too much. "Well, there was a mountain lion attack and Foxpaw's all scratched up and Embersong… I guess she got the worst of it."

With a gasp, Icepelt rushed into the den, causing a slight breeze to blow in Sunpaw's face. Not wanting to see Icepelt's reaction, the golden apprentice walked off to the fresh-kill pile. She brushed past Hawkblaze, who had barely moved from his spot. The tom turned to glare at her, his dark brown eyes scaring her a little, since they showed almost no emotion. Sunpaw made a wide circle around the orange-brown tom, keeping her eyes on him despite the tingles it sent down her spine. Cautiously, Sunpaw picked up a small mouse and took it elsewhere to eat, not wanting to be too close to Hawkblaze.

Sunpaw picked a spot close to Juttingrock, where she could see the mouth of the medicine cat den. Her curiosity seemed to get the better of her, since she had decided earlier that she didn't want to see what happened. And yet here she was, gnawing idly on the mouse as she waited for someone to come out.

"If you want to see what's happening, you could just go inside, Sunpaw," a familiar voice purred from somewhere to Sunpaw's right.

"I know, Blizzardstar. But I just don't want to be in there right now, I guess."

Blizzardstar's snowy paws came into view, but Sunpaw didn't turn to look at her. The apprentice knew what was coming next.

"Did you find Snowleaf?"

"No… He wasn't there. In the clearing we found Foxpaw and Embersong in, at least. I don't think any of us wanted to go out and find him with Embersong like she was."

The leader was silent for a while, making Sunpaw shift uncomfortably. Did she do something wrong? Should she have gone after Snowleaf?

"We'll look for him once Embersong and Foxpaw are taken care of," Blizzardstar finally said, to which Sunpaw nodded in response. Neither of them wanted to assume the worst, but it was hard to stay positive about the whole thing. Foxpaw was injured, Embersong could die, and Snowleaf might already be dead.

Since Sunpaw was talking to Blizzardstar, she didn't notice that Icepelt had come out of the medicine cat den, her eyes looking down at the floor.

"Blizzardstar?" she meowed, almost a whisper.

"Yes, Icepelt?"

"I, uh… I was wondering if I could maybe change my name?"

"Why?"

"In case my mother…" Icepelt didn't want to finish her sentence.

Blizzardstar nodded. "I understand, Icepelt. I'll think it over."

Icepelt nodded, and padded off, disappearing into the warrior's den.

Sunpaw was curious now. "You going to change it?"

"So you think a few seconds is enough to think about it?"

Sunpaw looked away, her tail showing she could still find the joke.

"I probably will."

"Oh, ok."

Blizzardstar stood, stretched, and walked off, leaving Sunpaw to her half-finished mouse.

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"So, Ice-ember huh?"

"Yes."

"I like that name, actually. It fits her more than Icesong, I suppose."

"My reasoning exactly, Tangleclaw."

Tangleclaw and Blizzardstar laughed a little, Tangleclaw quickly returning to her rabbit. Both of them were happy to try and lighten the mood, but the thought of Embersong and Snowleaf both dying frightened them both.

Tangleclaw took a bite of her meal, and continued. "I think she went out with Hawkblaze, didn't she?"

"Pretty sure she did. Whiteclaw seemed pretty upset about it, and I just wonder why."

"Maybe she just wanted the time out of camp?"

"Maybe. But I think Ice-ember needs it, with Embersong and all."

The idle chat helped calm both of their nerves, but Tangleclaw still felt guilty about making the patrol go out in the first place. Now two cats could be dead, all because she felt they had some time before the storm came to hunt.

"You're not thinking about you sending that patrol out again, are you?"

Tangleclaw's silence was an answer in and of itself.

Blizzardstar sighed. "Tangleclaw, don't make yourself feel guilty. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time! It's not your fault. They would know to come back before the storm got too bad, prey or no prey."

"I know, it's just… Well, before a storm all the prey disappears into their dens, and I should have known it would be hard to find them if it started snowing or raining."

"But how would you know if a mountain lion was going to be there or not?"

A sigh. "I wouldn't."

"There, see? It was an accident, Tangleclaw. Just be happy they survived… At least Embersong and Foxpaw. And Snowleaf is probably fine, he knows how to take care of himself."

Tangleclaw opened her mouth to say something, but a loud crack distracted her. The deputy leapt out of Blizzardstar's den to see what was going on, her strong legs absorbing the impact. Frantically searching for the cause of the sound, Tangleclaw's blue eyes scoured the cave system, but came to rest on a large crack running from the ceiling to the floor, on the side opposite the warrior and apprentice dens.

The crack began to spider across the wall, Tangleclaw gasping as it spread with incredible speed. As a few cracks managed to find their way onto the floor, Tangleclaw decided it was a good time to get out.

"Everyone out!" she shouted, her voice barely heard over the sound of part of the cave collapsing. None of the cats stopped to ask why, and all scrambled toward the entrance. Tangleclaw waited for Blizzardstar, but the leader told her she was staying.

"Get out, Tangleclaw! I need to make sure that the medicine cat den is empty!"

Tangleclaw started to protest, but Blizzardstar pushed her forward before running for the cave off to the left of Centerplace. Tangleclaw contemplated running after her leader, but shook the thought from her mind. She needed to get out, and fast.

The ground trembled as some part of the cave fell away, Tangleclaw having to turn around to see.

The wall opposite the apprentice and warrior dens had fallen away, revealing a black abyss. Tangleclaw panicked as a few more cracks sped toward her, her claws scrabbling for a hold so she could turn and sprint away. With a last glance at the medicine cat den, Tangleclaw ran out of Centerplace and leapt from the cliff, grunting with the impact as she hit the still-soft ground below.

All the cats were staring in horror as an avalanche was triggered, the large slab of snow hurtling toward them. They backed away, the snow picking up speed as it fell down the almost-vertical mountain peak. Tangleclaw held back a cry as the snow crashed over the entrance to their home, burying anyone left inside.

**Want the official number of words? Here it is: 8,444 words. I'm am so freaking happy! This is the longest chapter I've EVER written, and I'm incredibly proud of it. I was in the Dragon Boat Festival we had in Colorado last weekend, and the most awesome idea ever came to mind. I started freaking out because I didn't have my lappie top with me (evil parents and their 'no-laptop' rules) so I just wrote down all my ideas on a piece of paper and had to wait until I got home. I was so psyched about it that apparently I wrote almost 8,500 words about it! YAY! So, I would love to have some reviews on this awesomely long chapter telling me how I did! Thank you all for being amazing readers and supporters! **

**Also, who thinks they know what will happen? Post in your review! I'm interested to see what you all predict! So, as usual, happy writing and thanks for reviewing!**

**~Kono**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Tangleclaw was breathing hard, not caring to shake off the little white flecks that had found a home in her brown fur, instead looking ahead at the solid mound of snow that had buried their camp. Everyone else was also in shock- had StarClan really let this happen? They had no home, no medicine cats, no leader… Where would they go? LeafClan was an option, but this was almost a whole Clan taking refuge there! Tangleclaw decided against it, instead opting to inspect the snow. Perhaps they could try to dig through it? Or is it too deep for that?

"Foxpaw!" Sunpaw suddenly shrieked, her brain finally registering that her brother was inside the inaccessible cave. "No!" The golden she-cat ran forward, barely sinking in the snow that had spilled over the side. The apprentice clambered up the snow until she found about where the entrance should have been, only recognizable by the slight depression there was in the flawless white wall. Desperate to get back inside, Sunpaw dug her paws deep in the snow and began to dig, small shards of ice cutting into her pads as she pushed harder and harder, all the while muttering to herself that this… Nightmare couldn't be happening. "No, no, no, no, no, Foxpaw isn't stuck in there, this is just a dream, a nightmare, no, no…"

Tangleclaw made her way up next to the distraught Sunpaw, who was actually making quite a lot of progress, considering her paws were smaller than the paws of the rest of the cats outside. A pile of snow sat just under her chest, growing little by little as more snow was shoveled into it by Sunpaw's more than able paws.

Tangleclaw simply watched, wondering if she should try to dig and help Sunpaw. She decided against it, thinking the entire attempt would be proved futile in the end, leaving them with wasted energy. They didn't even know if anyone inside lived through the avalanche! What if the snow had completely flooded camp, burying Blizzardstar, Mysticmist, Whiteclaw, and everyone else who hadn't made it out.

The brown she-cat continued to stare as the snow started to turn pink under the golden apprentice's paw, the snow diluting the deep red of blood that was now coming from Sunpaw's paws. Wait. Why was she just watching?

"Sunpaw, stop! Stop it! You've cut yourself already!" Tangleclaw hissed, trying to get the attention of the apprentice. "Stop!"

Sunpaw kept digging, her paws going deeper and deeper, the pile growing, the snow turning redder the more the ice cut into her. She showed no sign of stopping, nor that she had noticed her injury yet, much less felt it. Tangleclaw's voice was only a faint echo in her mind, seemingly further away than it really was, barely a whisper despite the fact that the deputy was right next to her. In a trance, the apprentice continued, with one repeating thought piercing her mind: _Foxpaw_. Sunpaw couldn't stop before she got him out, even if it took her moons to do so. Then, all of a sudden, she was being pulled away… Away from her brother, away from the one she cared about. The one who cared about _her_. Why would they take her away?

"No!" Sunpaw screamed in protest, temporarily out of her mind. "No! I have to get him out! He's going to die in there!" The she-cat wriggled and squirmed, trying to get back to the hole she had made in the snow. Tangleclaw kept the shrieking Sunpaw pinned under her paws, trying to be heavy enough to keep the she-cat under her, but light enough to not crush her.

The deputy hardened herself to Sunpaw's screams, especially after realizing that she was right. They _would _die in there eventually. The cats that were outside had to at least try, right? Maybe digging was a good idea, but Tangleclaw refused to see Sunpaw mutilate herself more than she already had.

"Sunpaw, Sunpaw listen to me," Tangleclaw meowed, trying to remain calm. Her voice was soothing and quiet, trying to calm Sunpaw even though she herself wasn't. This had the desired effect, sedating Sunpaw enough so that she was a little more approachable. "You can't help if you can hardly walk. We can try and dig our way in, but try not to hurt yourself, ok?"

Sunpaw's golden body was quivering, showing her body had now registered the abuse, but her mind still seemed a bit distant due to the shock of losing her brother. Finally, Sunpaw seemed to come back into her mind, taking in a deep breath to steady herself a bit. Her amber eyes darted from the hole to her paws, which were bleeding out a little into the snow, softening it enough so she sunk, crumbles of white falling from higher up to cover her paws.

"Come on, Sunpaw. Let's get back down," Tangleclaw suggested, trying to be gentle with the traumatized she-cat. Sunpaw nodded to her deputy, following her obediently down the drifts of snow, her talkative self gone for the time being.

"Who's missing?" Tangleclaw asked, once returning to the rest of the cats with Sunpaw.

"Well, Blizzardstar, Whiteclaw, and Mysticmist are still in there of course. Embersong wouldn't have been able to get out, or Sparrowtail. And obviously Foxpaw," A cat shouted out. Tangleclaw figured it was Mistflower.

"What about Hawkblaze and Ice-ember? Has anyone seen them?"

Mistflower came up next to Tangleclaw, now whispering, though Tangleclaw was unsure why. "I thought they made it out, but I haven't seen them. They might still be in there. And that new tom too."

Tangleclaw groaned. That made nine. Nine cats stuck inside a cave with no other way to get out, a nearly gone fresh-kill pile, and three cats that would need herbs that would be gone eventually. What were they supposed to do?

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"Hey, Chloe!"

"Yeah, Jackson?"

"I'm kind of stuck…"

The gold she-cat sighed, her amber eyes searching for the white tom. She spotted his white and speckled brown pelt under a large pile of garbage, and silently joked with herself about that. She guessed the clumsy tom had knocked it over while scavenging for food. Grabbing a corner of the black fabric that covered most of Jackson's body, Chloe pulled hard, ears moving back at the clattering of the various cans that had fallen on the ground under her.

"Sometimes," she grumbled, "I wonder why I put up with you. Don't you have some Twolegs somewhere that will give you those little brown pellets? Why do you insist on tagging along with me?"

"Uh…" Jackson mewed, struggling to stand. He winced a little as he managed to knock a whole trashcan over, making a loud racket, getting him a glare from Chloe. "Whoops."

Chloe shook her head. "You're the clumsiest tom I've ever met." The gold she-cat began to pad away, Jackson scrambling to catch up.

"Hold up!" he yelled. "I don't know this area… I don't really want to get lost here."

Chloe snorted. "No, you don't, do you? Because you have no idea how to take care of yourself!"

"I do too! I just haven't had a chance to show you!" Jackson insisted, sounding like a whiny kit.

"You sound like a kit when you argue with me like that, you know?"

"Do not!"

"See that right there?" Chloe meowed, looking over her shoulder at the tom, whose light blue eyes caught her gaze.

"Whatever," the tom mumbled, holding back the urge to continue the argument. "Just show me what you want to show me. This place freaks me out anyway."

Chloe's tail flicked playfully over the white and brown tom's muzzle_, _laughing. Jackson batted at the she-cat's golden tail, giving it a playful nip as she pulled it away.

Chloe used to be a kittypet, like Jackson, but she decided the life of a kittypet was a little boring for her taste shortly after catching a rat she found in an alley outside. It entertained her more than sitting inside her Twoleg nest, and she took a liking to taking care of herself anyway. Jackson happened to be out as well, and the two quickly became close. Of course, Jackson was reluctant to 'go on an adventure', as Chloe put it, and stayed with his Twolegs most of the time.

Chloe, however, disappeared shortly after she met Jackson. She only returned a quarter-moon or so ago, and this time, Jackson was eager to explore with the she-cat who was barely six moons old, much younger than him. But this expedition was pushing it.

"Have you heard about that one cat that was found dead over here?" Jackson whispered, barely audible. "Let's just go back, before we end up like that."

Chloe snorted at this. "Go back if you want. I want to _see_!"

"I _really _don't think that's a good idea, Chloe." Jackson began to shake, the feeling they shouldn't be there getting stronger every step he took further down the shadowed, claustrophobic backstreet they were in.

"Why not?"

"It's just…" Jackson struggled with what to say. "It just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like we should be here."

"Jackson, _nothing _feels right to you. You're just scared, aren't you?" the golden she-cat sneered.

"And I think I have a good reason to be!"

A rustle in the darkness behind them startled the two cats, and Chloe instantly whirled around to see what was going to come out. A light breeze ruffled her fur, but so far, nothing was coming out at them.

Then, a gleam of white shone through the darkness. Chloe and Jackson's ears went back, pressed against their heads, and the white slowly drifted out of the shadows. Jackson tensed, ready for a cat to jump out and attack them. All of a sudden, Chloe burst out in a fit of laughter.

"A piece of _paper_! Jackson, you thought that was a cat, didn't you?" she meowed, upon seeing the blank piece of paper float out into the sunlight.

Jackson looked away, embarrassed. "Did not. I wasn't even scared."

"Yeah right!"

Jackson sighed. Arguing wouldn't help, just make him sound even more desperate to prove to Chloe that he wasn't scared. The tom turned to follow Chloe once again, who was already on her way.

Chloe padded silently along, ignoring Jackson for the moment. Deep in thought, the young she-cat disregarded Jackson's attempts to start up a conversation. It wasn't long before it became eerily silent.

Of course, silence is quite revealing.

"What was that?" Chloe blurted out, snapping out of her thoughts as she heard something – a piece of wood, she figured – fall.

Jackson shrugged, pushing aside his fears for the moment. "Probably nothing."

Chloe shot Jackson a glance. Something wasn't right here…

A lean, white form of a she-cat stepped out of the shadows. Chloe instantly compared her to the piece of paper she and Jackson had seen mere seconds ago. The white she-cat was like a bag of bones; her skin stretched tighter than a tarp over her flimsy frame.

Two more forms slunk out of the darkness, this time two toms, walking out side by side. The one on the right was large and dark brown, obviously much stronger than the skinny black tom to his left. The three pairs of eyes settled on Jackson and Chloe; one orange-amber, belonging to the large brown tom, the piercing blue eyes of the she-cat, and the deep, unwavering stare of the black tom.

A shiver went up Chloe's spine. _Why do these cats seem so familiar? _The she-cat searched her brain, but found no answer to her question. Shaking now, Chloe tried to speak. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Oddly enough, Jackson was the first to speak.

"W-who a-are y-you?" he stammered.

The white she-cat shook her head and looked down for a moment. "Jackson, oh, Jackson," she meowed. "You know who we are. After all, you cut a _deal _with us. Remember that? Remember our deal, Jackson?"

Chloe looked over at Jackson, mouthing, _what deal?_ Jackson looked over at Chloe, shook his head, then looked back at the three cats.

"I didn't make a deal!" he yelled.

"Oh, yes you did," a new voice purred, the owner still hiding somewhere. Another chill went up Chloe's spine. _I know that voice too… But from where? _The she-cat was annoyed with herself now. Why couldn't she remember these cats?

Apparently, Jackson recognized the voice as well. His temporary courage dissipated, and he began to shiver violently, terrified.

"I-I… I don't r-remember th-the deal!" Jackson mewed, shrinking down to half his size as he tried to hide.

A _mrrow _of amusement. "Yes you do. I know you do."

"No, I don't! I swear!"

"The deal for _her_. A life for a life, Jackson."

Chloe turned to look at Jackson, her eyes full of disbelief. "J-Jackson, what…"

Jackson could no longer look straight at Chloe.

A tortoiseshell walked out into the quickly fading sunlight. "Now, since your… _Friend_ won't explain, allow me to," the she-cat purred. The purr seemed calming and caring on the outside, but almost nothing could obscure the fact that it was menacing underneath.

"See, shortly after you disappeared," the she-cat began, "Jackson here cut a deal with me. And it involves you."

_**\/\/\/\/\/**_

"What in the name of StarClan happened?" Mysticmist mewed, staring down the wall of snow that had suddenly formed within mere seconds. Snow had piled up in a mound on the floor as well, blocking off almost a quarter of Centerplace.

"The snow must have gotten too heavy, and it just… Came down," Blizzardstar responded, having no better idea for what happened.

A few, harder pieces of snow tumbled down the mound, leaving a powdery trail behind them. A stray rock from the ceiling fell as well, and Mysticmist barely avoided the projectile, which was almost as big as her head.

"And it seems like the cave is barely holding itself together," Whiteclaw meowed, butting in as she came out of the medicine cat den. She too simply stared at the snow, which had split the Clan.

"You think we can dig our way out?" Mysticmist wondered out loud.

"I think it's too deep for that," Blizzardstar answered, putting her paw against the start of the snow knoll. To experiment, she dug about a tail-length in. "We'd have to dig through all of this, which would be about half of Centerplace." She shook her head. "I don't think it'll work. We need to find another way out."

"What about that cave back there that opened up? The one by the warrior and apprentice dens?" Mysticmist suggested.

Blizzardstar sighed. "It's worth a try. But not now. There's still lots of rocks falling from the ceiling, and I don't want to risk it caving in while we're in there."

Whiteclaw glared at the leader, but looked away before Blizzardstar or Mysticmist could notice. She snorted quietly, and padded away, disappearing into the shadows.

The medicine cat den was in chaos, but most of this was Ice-ember's doing. She ran around frantically, utterly terrified by the avalanche.

"Ice-ember, calm down!" Sparrowtail hissed, trying to get the she-cat's attention. "Ice-ember!"

"Oh, what's going to happen? We can't get out, there's no other entrance-"

"Ice-ember!" Sparrowtail yelled, sitting up. He winced slightly as he bumped his bad leg against a wall.

"What?"

"Calm down already! It's not that bad."

Ice-ember took a shaky breath. "Ok, ok… You're right."

Sparrowtail grunted as he made an attempt to stand, something he hadn't done for a quarter-moon. He managed to get to his feet, and he limped over to Ice-ember. He flicked his tail playfully on her muzzle, trying to lighten the mood a little and draw her attention away from his bad limp. Sparrowtail limped past Hawkblaze, giving him a sympathetic look as he passed by. He missed the Hawkblaze he used to know, the Hawkblaze he had trained, but whenever he tried to find the old Hawkblaze, he only encountered a hollow shell of the tom's former self.

Foxpaw walked up beside Ice-ember, nudging her to alert her of his presence.

"Oh, Foxpaw! Um…" Ice-ember looked around for a little before sitting down. "So, since we're all stuck here, want to talk about anything?"

Foxpaw gave the she-cat an annoyed glare.

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that. I kind of forgot you can't really talk… Like, conversation-wise."

Foxpaw simply shrugged.

"Whenever I'm around you I start to feel like Sunpaw, like I talk too much. It's kind of weird not having you respond and all. It feels so one-sided."

Foxpaw tilted his head and gave Ice-ember his best confused look.

Ice-ember groaned and looked down at her paws. "I feel like a mouse-brain now. I didn't mean you don't _respond, _I meant responding by talking back."

Foxpaw's tail flicked, and his eyes gleamed with mirth. Ice-ember was the one glaring now.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Foxpaw puffed his chest out, closed his eyes, and nodded. _Immensely, _he seemed to say.

Ice-ember couldn't help but laugh at this. "You make the best faces, you know that? I guess it comes with your condition, huh?"

Foxpaw shrugged again.

"And I guess you get to shrug a lot too. Your shoulders must be pretty strong then."

Foxpaw's eyes lit up a little in a silent laugh. Ice-ember had never really noticed how expressive his eyes could be before. Ice-ember figured that was how Sunpaw understood her brother, but she sensed there was something else. How else could Sunpaw seem to know _exactly _what Foxpaw was trying to say? _It's like she can read his mind, _Ice-ember thought. Another nudge from Foxpaw brought Ice-ember back to reality.

"What? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

Foxpaw tilted his head, curiosity shining in his brown eyes.

"I'd rather not talk about it here… It's a uh, personal question of mine."

Foxpaw mouthed 'oh' and nodded, to which Ice-ember sighed in relief. _At least he gets it._ Foxpaw then used his head to gesture to something behind Ice-ember, and she turned to only find Hawkblaze.

"Hawkblaze!" Ice-ember mewed, feeling a little awkward talking to him. After all, he wouldn't respond in the way she hoped he would.

"Ice-ember," Hawkblaze murmured back, after about five seconds of waiting. Ice-ember spun around to look at Foxpaw. A look of amazement was on her face. _Did you know about this? _She mouthed.

Foxpaw simply sat there, giving Ice-ember a smug expression. He got up, puffed his chest out again, closed his eyes, and pranced away, tail held high.

Ice-ember snorted. "Yeah, you do that, Foxpaw." The white she-cat turned her icy blue gaze back to Hawkblaze. _Is he coming back?_

**Yay for the lazies! Anywho, I actually made this my homework for my Language Arts class. Lucky, lucky, lucky… Now you're guaranteed an update every Tuesday or earlier! Unless I **_**want **_**to flunk school… Which I don't… ANYWAY. Was it nice to finally hear from Crimson? I will post an updated allegiances next chapter or the one after that so I can have all of Crimson's cats up there for you all. We'll see. So, you know, feel free to pelt me with shoes, tomatoes… Because I kinda deserve it. XD But thanks to you all for not COMPLETELY abandoning me!**

**Happy writing,**

**~Kono**

**(P.S. I'll pay for those tomatoes if you want me to. The shoes are your problem.)**


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